Outstanding pitching has sparked Twins during their 13-game winning streak

MILWAUKEE (AP) — There’s no mystery regarding what has sparked the Minnesota Twins on their 13-game winning streak.

Their pitching staff is on a roll unlike any before in Twins history.

Minnesota recorded its third straight shutout in a 7-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. The Twins allowed six runs in the third inning of an 8-6 win at Baltimore on Wednesday, but they haven’t given up any since.

That stretch of 33 straight shutout innings is the longest such streak in Twins history, which began in 1961. They had three longer shutout streaks when they were the Washington Senators, but the most recent of those took place in 1913.

That streak includes three straight shutout wins, a feat the Twins last accomplished in July 2004. Chris Paddack allowed three hits over seven innings in a 4-0 triumph at Baltimore on Thursday. Joe Ryan and Pablo López each gave up two hits over six innings the last two nights in Milwaukee.

“You want to follow suit,” López said after Saturday’s game. “You want to be the guy that just keeps that momentum going. Joe did it after Paddack. I wanted to do it after Joe. I woke up today just feeling so motivated and feeling ready that I want to continue that. I want to be on the mound and just feel those energies just take over. We have such a good thing going with the pitching and the hitting.”

This represents the second-longest winning streak in Twins history. They won 15 straight in 1991, the year they won their last World Series championship.

It also is the second straight year that the Twins have produced a winning streak of at least 12 games.

They’re the first MLB team to win at least 12 straight games in consecutive seasons since Cleveland did it in 2016-17. The only other team from one of the men’s major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) to accomplish that feat is the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, who had streaks of that length in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Each of the last two years, the Twins have used a long winning streak to bounce back from a slow start.

Last year, the Twins got off to a 7-13 start before reeling off 12 straight victories, though they eventually missed the playoffs after losing seven of their last eight games. This year, the Twins were 13-20 before winning 13 straight.

Pitching has keyed that turnaround.

“It’s been a pretty nice run the boys have been going on, but I’d prefer not to talk about it too much,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I’d prefer to just let them keep playing the way they’re playing and pitching the way they’re pitching.”

Minnesota starters went a combined 1-5 with a 6.90 ERA in the Twins’ first 10 games. They’re 15-4 with an MLB-leading 2.46 ERA in the 36 games since.

“Once you kind of get your feet wet to start the year, from spring, you’re able to get a good routine in, get the schedule kind of mapped out after those early off days and some rainouts,” said Bailey Ober, who has gone 4-1 with a 3.72 ERA. “I feel like we’re just kind of getting back on schedule and kind of doing our thing.”

The bullpen has been even better. Twins relievers have allowed one earned run over 38 1/3 innings since May 6.

“The most important thing is we’re pounding the zone with strikes,” said Danny Coulombe, who has worked 16 2/3 innings this season without allowing a run. “We have a lot of really good stuff in this bullpen, so when you pound the zone with good stuff, generally good things happen.”

That outstanding pitching has helped the Twins withstand injuries to key position players as they fight for position in the loaded AL Central. Minnesota is second in the division, four games behind the Detroit Tigers.

Shortstop Carlos Correa and center fielder Byron Buxton have both gone on the 7-day concussion injured list after colliding while chasing a shallow fly ball Thursday. Utilityman Willi Castro also was out of the lineup Saturday after fouling a ball off his right knee in a 3-0 victory at Milwaukee on Friday.

Even with a few of its highest-profile hitters missing, the Twins managed to keep it rolling. It helps when the pitchers aren’t allowing any runs at all.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan throws against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Minnesota Twins pitcher Chris Paddack throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez throws to the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday May 17, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.

“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.

President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”

“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)