Twins ace Joe Ryan has MRI on elbow after early exit

Minnesota Twins ace right-hander Joe Ryan underwent an MRI after exiting with right elbow soreness nine pitches into Sunday's home start against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Ryan fanned leadoff man Yohendrick Pinango on three pitches, then walked Kazuma Okamoto. After Ryan's full-count fastball to Okamoto finished above the zone, he waved for manager Derek Shelton and trainer Nick Paparesta to come out to the mound.

After a brief conversation, Ryan headed to the dugout.

"Well, we got imaging," Shelton told reporters after Minnesota's 4-3 win. "We'll kind of evaluate from there. I think, as you guys were told, it was something in the elbow. We'll evaluate. We have the off day tomorrow, and then we'll go off that."

Following the abbreviated outing, the Twins' Opening Day starter is 2-3 with a 3.72 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 40 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings over eight starts.

Ryan dealt with lower back issues during spring training, which included the need for an MRI exam, but did not miss any turns this season.

Minnesota already has three starting pitchers on the injured list: Pablo Lopez (elbow), David Festa (shoulder) and Mick Abel (elbow). Lopez tore his ACL during spring training and underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Abel posted a 1-2 record and a 3.98 ERA in four appearances (three starts) before being shelved in mid-April, but he's expected back relatively soon.

Ryan, who made his major league debut in 2021, has fashioned a 48-39 record and a 3.79 ERA in 123 appearances (122 starts).

--Field Level Media