Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, who left Sunday's 4-3 victory over Toronto because of soreness in his throwing elbow, does not appear to have any structural damage in his arm and could make his next scheduled start.
With Pablo Lopez on the shelf for the entire season after surgery, the Twins can't afford to lose their other top arm.
"We definitely don't, especially one of Joe's caliber," Shelton told WCCO's Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar. "We got a really good bill of health from the MRI the other day. No structural damage."
Shelton says Ryan has already been throwing.
"He played catch yesterday. So today is the big day. He's going to throw his bullpen today," Shelton explains. "But we are thinking that all systems are go, and it is definitely a sigh of relief when you see him come out after two hitters on Sunday. If everything goes according to plan, he’ll make his next scheduled start Saturday at Cleveland."
Ryan faced just two Toronto batters on Sunday before leaving the mound, striking out Yohendrick Piñango and walking Kazuma Okamoto. After the walk, Ryan signaled to catcher Victor Caratini and the dugout, and after conferring with Shelton and a team trainer at the mound, walked off the field.
Ryan (2-3, 3.72 ERA) made his first All-Star appearance in 2025 and is the ace of the Minnesota rotation with Pablo López out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in February.
Ryan's health generally has not been an issue. He made 30 starts last season and at least 23 each of the previous three seasons.
Having been chosen to play in the World Baseball Classic this year, Ryan left his first spring start with lower back tightness. But he went on to make three subsequent exhibition starts and has made all his scheduled starts this season, including on opening day in Baltimore.
Byron Buxton #25 of the Minnesota Twins celebrates after hitting a three run home run against the Washington Nationals during the eighth inning at Nationals Park on May 5, 2026 in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Twins get a good start from Bradley and Buxton stays hot
Byron Buxton hit a three-run homer, Brooks Lee drove in three runs and Taj Bradley struck out eight in six solid innings to help the Minnesota Twins beat the Washington Nationals 11-3 on Tuesday night.
Buxton's homer, his sixth in the last eight games and 11th this season, made it 10-3 in the eighth. Lee was 3 for 5 with two doubles and Trevor Larnach added two hits and two RBIs.
Bradley (4-1) gave up two runs and four hits and walked two.
Cade Cavalli (1-2) gave up six runs — three earned — in four innings for the Nationals, who are 4-13 at home this season.
Kody Clemens was hit by a pitch with two outs in the second and Luke Keaschall followed with an infield single before Lee doubled down right field line to give the Twins a 2-1 lead.
Austin Martin singled before Clemens and Keaschall each walked to load the bases with no outs in the fourth. Martin scored when Lee reached on a fielding error by Cavalli and a sacrifice fly by Royce Lewis drove in Clemens before Larnach’s two-run double made it 6-1.
Daylen Lile walked, moved to third when Curtis Mead doubled and scored when CJ Abrams reached on a fielder's choice to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Mead's double in the fifth drove in Lile.
Mead and José Tena each went 2 for 4 with a double.
Josh Bell singled to drive in Ryan Jeffers, who led off the seventh with a double, to make it 7-2.
James Wood hit a liner off the top of the wall in left for a double that drove in Tena in the bottom of the inning and cut the Nationals' deficit to 7-3.
Minnesota Twins (16-20, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Washington Nationals (16-20, third in the NL East)
Washington; Wednesday, 5:45 p.m. Pregame at 5:00 p.m. on 830 WCCO and the Audacy App.
PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Bailey Ober (3-1, 3.55 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 29 strikeouts); Nationals: Miles Mikolas (0-3, 8.23 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, 19 strikeouts)
LINE: Twins -139, Nationals +116; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Twins face the Washington Nationals with a 1-0 series lead.
Washington has a 4-13 record at home and a 16-20 record overall. The Nationals are 11-4 in games when they out-hit their opponents.
Minnesota is 6-10 in road games and 16-20 overall. The Twins are 1-4 in games decided by one run.
Wednesday's game is the second time these teams square off this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: James Wood leads the Nationals with 10 home runs while slugging .507. C.J. Abrams is 9 for 33 with a double, a home run and eight RBIs over the last 10 games.
Brooks Lee has four doubles, five home runs and 21 RBIs for the Twins. Byron Buxton is 13 for 44 with a double and six home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 5-5, .198 batting average, 3.00 ERA, outscored by seven runs
Twins: 4-6, .247 batting average, 4.91 ERA, outscored by four runs
INJURIES: Nationals: Luis Garcia: day-to-day (wrist), Cole Henry: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Clayton Beeter: 15-Day IL (forearm), Trevor Williams: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ken Waldichuk: 60-Day IL (forearm), Josiah Gray: 60-Day IL (elbow), DJ Herz: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Twins: Cody Laweryson: 15-Day IL (forearm), Joe Ryan: day-to-day (elbow), Cole Sands: 15-Day IL (forearm), Garrett Acton: 15-Day IL (shoulder), David Festa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Mick Abel: 15-Day IL (elbow), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (elbow)
