Joe Ryan was untouchable and Royce Lewis was unstoppable. Those two factors were more than enough to give the Minnesota Twins the win over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, spoiling the home team’s hopes of their first sweep of the season in Denver.
Walks will haunt...booooo!
It was pretty clear from the jump that Germán Márquez didn’t have his best stuff on Sunday. Seemingly unable to get comfortable on the mound, Márquez had difficulty locating his fastball and thus allowed Minnesota’s hitters to consistently enjoy favorable
counts. These led to the Twins walking four times in three innings, and though he avoided damage for the first two, it was the third frame that would chase Márquez from the game.
That top of the third saw him walk Willi Castro to open the inning. Castro would move to second on Carlos Correa’s groundout and score when Kody Clemens tripled, putting the Twins up by one. After a nice play at the plate initiated by Kyle Farmer to cut down a potential second run, Matt Wallner put an exclamation point on Minnesota’s attack by smashing a towering home run to right field, scoring two and giving Minnesota a 3-0 lead.
Over the Wallner!!!! pic.twitter.com/v8NeYTVPws
— Twins.TV (@twinstv) July 20, 2025
The Rockies would counter with a Mickey Moniak home run in the bottom of the third,
️ @zgoody23 with the debut call pic.twitter.com/NFjJIhjZ0g
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) July 20, 2025
but the visitors came right back with a homer of their own in the top of the fourth, courtesy of Royce Lewis’ tank off of a Ryan Rolison slider. Facing a 4-1 deficit, Colorado would need to fight back.
Royce Rolls
Royce Lewis is, uh, very good. After welcoming Ryan Rolison to the game by homering on just his second pitch, Lewis wasn’t done dealing out damage to Rockies relievers. In the top of the eighth, the Twins were enjoying a 5-1 lead as Jimmy Herget strode to the mound for his second inning of work.
Harget’s pitched very well this season, but Lewis put a blemish on his weekend by smashing the first pitch he saw, a way-too-high slider, out into center field for his second round-tripper of the game.
Royce AGAIN!!!! pic.twitter.com/nZCirUmqAL
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 20, 2025
Colorado’s offensive woes against Joe Ryan made a five-run hole seem insurmountable. And speaking of Minnesota’s starter...
The Ryan Problem
Joe Ryan has been one of MLB’s most accomplished pitchers this season, and that skill was on display in today’s game. Ryan expertly mixed his pitches and allowed precious little solid contact to Colorado’s bats, allowing his team to swing away without fear. His previous issues pitching against the Rockies seemed a thing of the past as he carved up their lineup and kept them off the base paths.
In total, Ryan went seven innings and allowed one run (the Moniak homer) on five hits and no walks while striking out 11. From the moment he threw his first pitch, it was clear that Ryan was on his A-game, and the Rockies could not respond.
Even after Ryan departed, Colorado’s offense was unable to get back in the game. Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran each tossed an inning of scoreless relief, avoiding the sweep and sending the crowd home for Sunday dinner winless.
Up Next
The Rockies will welcome Nolan Arenado back to Coors Field when they begin their series with the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday. Game one will see the Redbirds send out Michael McGreevy (1-1, 4.22 ERA), while the former Cardinal Austin Gomber (0-3, 5.65 ERA) will try to defend his home turf.
That game begins at 6:40pm MST. See you then!
More from purplerow.com:
- Thursday Rockpile: The Rockies and the quest for the “big hit”
- Wednesday Rockpile: What’s the plan with Orlando Arcia?
- Colorado Rockies minor league game thread: May 29th, 2025
- Friday Rockpile: Leadoff hitters are pivotal for Rockies wins
- Cubs 2, Rockies 1: Still a loss, but closer
- Weekly Pebble Report: Charlie Condon is focused on the present and looking towards the future (May 20th-May 26th)
- Colorado Rockies game no. 56 thread: Tanner Gordon vs. Matthew Boyd
