O's game blog: Bruce Zimmermann faces the Twins at the Yard

The Orioles continue to play a series of low-scoring close games at Oriole Park, with the new wall dimensions this year no doubt contributing greatly to that. Last night the teams combined for just three runs on 11 hits as the Twins beat the Orioles 2-1 to start a four-game series.

The Orioles went 2-4 versus the Twins last year and have now lost 17 of 20 to Minnesota since 2018. The Birds are 14-33 against the Twins since 2014.

The Orioles (8-15) scored nine runs – a season-high – in winning Sunday against the Red Sox. But they have scored just one, two and one run in the other three games around that one recently. So the offense remains remarkably inconsistent. This series the offense is matched up against a pitching staff that ranks second in the American League and fifth in the majors with a team ERA of 3.06. The Twins' rotation ERA of 2.58 is first in the AL and second in the majors.

The Twins (14-9) lead the AL Central by 3 ½ games over the Guardians and by 4 ½ games over the White Sox. Minnesota began the year going 4-8 but have now won 10 of 11 games, allowing just 23 runs in that span. In those 11 games, the Twins have a plus-33 run differential.

Tonight’s game features a marquee pitching matchup between two somewhat unheralded pitchers that have put up excellent numbers to begin the 2022 season. It’s O’s left-hander Bruce Zimmermann (1-1, 0.93 ERA) against Twins right-hander Joe Ryan (3-1, 1.17 ERA).

Zimmermann does not have enough innings to qualify for league leaders, but Ryan does. And he ranks second in the AL in ERA, second in WHIP (0.696) and first in opponent batting average (.132), giving up just 10 hits over 23 innings.

In his last start, Ryan pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just one hit with nine strikeouts versus Detroit. With those nine strikeouts, he now has 55 in his career, passing Bert Blyleven (50) for most strikeouts through a pitcher’s first nine career games in Twins/Senators history (1901-present). And Ryan now has a WHIP of 0.74 through his first nine career starts, the lowest WHIP by any major league pitcher over his first nine career starts since Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson from 1900-01 (0.70). He has thrown 13 scoreless on just three hits his past two starts and he is currently on a 17-inning scoreless streak, the longest by a Twins rookie since Andrew Albers in 2013.

And he is doing this without a blazing fastball. He throws his heater at 92.0 mph and uses it 52 percent of the time. He throws his slider 30 percent of the time, changeup 10 percent and curve eight percent.

A seventh-round draft selection by the Rays in 2018, Ryan was traded to the Twins on July 22, 2021 in the deal that sent Nelson Cruz to Tampa Bay. The Twins are 3-1 in his starts, where he has allowed two, one, zero and zero runs. Lefty batters hit just .147 with a .510 OPS against him and right-handers bat .119/.386.

Zimmermann has allowed just two earned runs and 17 hits over 19 1/3 innings thus far. He has a WHIP of 1.190, a walk rate of 2.8 and 9.8 strikeout rate. In his four starts, he has thrown 66, 75, 76 and 76 pitches. The Orioles are 3-1 in his starts and 5-14 in all other games.

Zimmermann’s average fastball velocity is 90.4 mph this year and he is throwing his fastball 37 percent of the time. That allows for many secondary pitches and his strong changeup is being used 33 percent of the time.

Zimmermann has not been scored on in two home starts versus the Brewers and Yankees. He has thrown nine innings, giving up seven hits with four walks and 10 strikeouts. He is 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA in 46 2/3 career innings at Oriole Park with 17 walks to 43 strikeouts.

A few minor league notes: Infielder Gunnar Henderson's offseason and spring training work to improve plate discipline and cut down on swings and misses is paying off. He had a .350 on-base percentage last year and that is now .427 with Double-A Bowie. His walk rate last summer was 13.8 at high Single-A Aberdeen and 11.8 at Bowie. Now it is 23.6.

Henderson is one of two players on the O’s farm (min. 50 plate appearances) with more walks than strikeouts. Terrin Vavra has a 1.43 walk-to-strikeout ratio and Henderson is at 1.24.

Catcher Adley Rutschman joins Bowie tonight as he continues to work his way back toward Triple-A and later the majors. He went 6-for-13 last week with high Single-A Aberdeen. Rutschman is catching and batting second tonight as Bowie has right-hander Ryan Watson on the mound. He has thrown 13 scoreless innings on the season. 

The longest active hitting streak for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides is held by outfielder Robert Neustrom, who has hit safely in seven straight games. In that span, he's hitting .423 (11-for-26) with two doubles, two home runs, five RBIs, two walks (.448 on-base percentage) and four stolen bases. His hitting streak is tied for the fifth-longest active streak in the International League.