'It's just a good pitch': Ryan (11 K's, 7 scoreless) leans on 4-seamer to blank Halos

MINNEAPOLIS -- As baseball has evolved in recent years, extreme velocity has become one of the defining traits of the era. That doesn’t mean it’s the only way to succeed.

One of the best fastballs in baseball clocked in at about 94 mph on Sunday, and it belongs to Joe Ryan. The right-hander turned in one of the most dominant outings of his career during a 5-0 win against the Angels at Target Field, striking out 11 against one walk and allowing four hits.

The strikeout total was one off Ryan's career high and marked the 10th time in his career he’s reached double figures. Ten of his strikeouts were of the swinging variety, and all but two came on fastballs.

He racked up 26 swings-and-misses on Sunday, a career high and the second-highest total in the Major Leagues this season. All while averaging 93.8 mph -- slightly below Major League average, though a tick above Ryan's average this season -- with that vexing four-seam fastball of his.

“When he’s throwing the ball the way he was today, you really see that effect,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “It’s a really good pitch that he can always have in his back pocket in any situation, and he locates it well, too.”

Ryan mixes a relatively low arm angle with a consistent ability to locate his fastball high in the strike zone, making for a challenging combination for hitters.

He threw 57 four-seamers on Sunday, just under 60 percent of his pitches, and another six two-seam fastballs, meaning just under two-thirds of his pitches were heaters. Still, the Angels were consistently flummoxed.

Los Angeles hitters swung at Ryan’s four-seamer 38 times and missed 18 of those times. That’s just under half, a ridiculous rate for a fastball.

“It’s no secret that Joe has one of the best fastballs in the game,” said catcher Ryan Jeffers, who drove in two runs as well as shepherding Ryan through his outing. “It’s been that way since he’s been in the big leagues. Opposing teams know that. They know they’re going to get a lot of fastballs.”

Ryan overwhelmed Los Angeles hitters from the start, inducing three foul popouts in the first inning and following that by striking out the side in order in the second. He didn’t allow a hit until the fourth, and his only walk came on a 3-2 pitch to Logan O’Hoppe that appeared to have caught the strike zone.

In six starts on the season, Ryan has tallied 39 strikeouts against four walks. Only two pitchers in the Major Leagues -- Matthew Liberatore of the Cardinals and Nathan Eovaldi of the Rangers -- have fewer walks while pitching enough innings to qualify for the ERA title.

Still, it was only a 1-0 game entering the fifth, when two grounders set the stage for a rally that put the game away. Correa reached on an infield single, his third hit of the game, and Trevor Larnach reached on an error. Ty France and Ryan Jeffers both doubled to stretch the lead to 4-0, and Ryan and the Minnesota bullpen finished it off.

Ryan battled a bit in his final inning, benefiting from a spectacular Harrison Bader catch on Taylor Ward and working around a double and an infield hit. But on his final pitch of the game, he got J.D. Davis to chase a 93 mph fastball up and in for strikeout No. 11.

“I always just assume they’re going to swing and miss when I throw it,” Ryan said. “It’s hard for me to break that down, I guess, but it’s a good sign. I’m hitting my spots probably, and we’re calling the right pitches. That’s all I think of it. I don’t know. It’s just a good pitch.”