1. Right-hander Joe Ryan looked good, showing shades and flourishes that recalled his pre-injury self, tossing five innings of one-run ball, allowing five singles and a walk to go with five strikeouts. He also hit two batters. Ryan admitted to being low on energy from his 81-pitch effort, which was shorter than he would have preferred. He hit the treadmill, after being pulled, in order to continue to build endurance. Ryan's experience in Spring Training, while injury free, wasn't free of minor setbacks, so he wasn't built up to throw 100 pitches in a regular-season game yet. He gave what he had, and he'll have more to give in upcoming starts.
2. The bullpen did not pitch like the best one in Major League Baseball, although how much blame for the loss we can apply to them remains an open question. We're still in wait-and-see mode on right-hander Jorge Alcala, who didn't seem right with his command after taking a line drive off his shoulder in the sixth inning. Manager Rocco Baldelli wants to see how he feels Sunday.
Louie Varland entered a difficult situation down a run (like he did on Opening day), walked his first batter to load the bases, and got two strikeouts. One more good outcome from a getaway, Varland left an 0-1 pitch over the plate to Lars Nootbaar and he creamed it 111.7 mph for a two-run single and a 4-1 lead for the Cardinals.
Jhoan Duran brought the heat, throwing five 100 mph-plus four-seam fastballs, reaching as high as 100.9. He also lacked command, throwing just 13 of 24 pitches for strikes. Victor Scott II led off with a bunt single to the mound, and he stole second. Duran walked the next two to load the bases, but he got Willson Contreras to strike out swinging on a curveball. Earlier in the count, Contreras swung and missed at a pair of splitters. Rather than push it with Duran and risk having him unavailable in the series finale, Baldelli brought in Justin Topa, who allowed a sacrifice fly before he struck out Nolan Arenado.
3. The bullpen needed to be perfect, because the Twins are having trouble scoring runs so far — a total of four in two games. Some of it is just bad luck, because they lead the league in average exit velocity at 97.9 mph (next is Arizona at 94.1, with a bunch of teams bunched up and trailing the D-backs). The Twins are also third from the bottom in batting average on balls in play (.204). Some of it also has been great defense by the Cardinals, mostly Victor Scott. One thing Twins batters are not doing is drawing walks — only the Rockies, Royals and Giants are worse so far.
4. Mickey Gasper, the 29-year-old rookie with the big mustache, finally got a hit. Hopefully not the last, but one of three on the day for the Twins. After being retired twice to drop to 0-for-20 for his career going back to 2024, Gasper lined a ball in the hole at short and beat it out for an infield single in the eighth. Cameras cut to his mom and dad in the crowd at Busch Stadium, and Gasper's dad appeared to wipe away a tear. Gasper told a story before Opening Day about checking the dugout tablet with the Red Sox in order to review previous at-bats, and they all showed the same broadcasts that fans saw, so there were his parents reacting with disappointment to their son making an out. Gasper had to abandon the process, not wanting to see mom and dad upset.
5. Playing the Cardinals is kind of like playing the Guardians. The Cards have hit the ball OK so far, but they've also got a BABIP of .367 to lead the league. The best example of all came on the liner off Alcala, which deflected toward Carlos Correa at short. He tried to barehand it in order to make a quick throw to first base, but he whiffed, and the ball sneaked through his legs. If the Cardinals and Twins ever play a round of mini-golf, bet on St. Louis.