Joe Ryan doesn’t know what he was stricken with this week. He just knows it was bad — really bad.
Ryan went to see the movie “Sinners” on the team’s Monday off day, but his movie-going experience was interrupted by non-stop shaking, which he described as “super violent.” When he returned home, he laid down for about a half hour before perching himself in front of the toilet for the next five hours. He estimated he threw up 20 to 30 times between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.
“I’ve never thrown up that much in my life,” the Twins pitcher said.
At one point about halfway through, he started puking blood. After the intense bout of vomiting ended, Ryan dealt with night sweats that kept him up nearly all night on Monday. He also said he had a 102-degree fever at one point during the ordeal.
Days removed from this experience, Ryan is now set to take on the San Francisco Giants, his hometown team, on Saturday. He was originally supposed to start on Thursday but that was pushed back with Bailey Ober and Chris Paddack each being moved up a day.
“I’ve never had something like that,” he said.
Ryan also said he had been dealing with something for the last two weeks or so, feeling the sensation of needing to vomit when his heart rate rose, including in-game. It was something he mentioned after his previous start in Boston, too.
The starer came into the ballpark on Tuesday, received an IV, tried his best to stay away from his teammates and went back home to try to sleep it off. On Wednesday, he came to the ballpark played catch and did a couple other things. Thursday he lifted and threw a bullpen in preparation for his start.
“(My) stuff is fine,” Ryan said. “I just feel weak. That’s the biggest thing.”
Lewis gets off day
Royce Lewis was not in the starting lineup on Friday as the Twins build the third baseman back up.
Lewis returned to the Twins’ lineup on Tuesday after missing the early part of the season with a hamstring strain suffered in mid-March during spring training. He served as the team’s designated hitter on both Tuesday and Wednesday before seeing action at third base finally on Thursday.
“He’s going to have occasional off days as he continues to build up,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s had a rehab assignment, but I think still that there’s going to be a build-up process for him in one way or another, so this is just part of it. He’s going to have a few of these types of days.”
Lewis entered the day 0 for 9 on the season, still looking for his first hit this year. Dating back to last season, he entered Friday hitless in his last 30 at-bats.
Briefly
Austin Martin returned from the injured list at Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday after missing more than three weeks with a strained right hamstring. In his very first inning back, he strained that same hamstring again, suffering the injury while stealing home. He is expected to be down for a few weeks before the Twins try to build him back up. … Infielder Jose Miranda, who strained his hand trying to catch a falling case of water at Target on an April 14 off day, was activated from the Triple-A IL on Friday. … Saturday’s game will be nationally televised on FOX.
