ST. LOUIS — Joe Ryan’s first start since last August, Mickey Gasper’s first-career hit and a nice leaping catch from Byron Buxton were among the standout moments for the Twins on Saturday afternoon in St. Louis. Aside from that? There wasn’t much. The Twins went hitless in the middle innings of the game and Jorge Alcala (0-1) gave up three runs without recording an out, helping send the Twins to a 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium, their second straight loss to begin the season. “Obviously not what we’re aiming for,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It’s not the objective, but we’ve got a long season to go. We’ve played two games. I’m not sweating two ballgames. I think there were a lot of positive things that we saw out there from our guys.” Ryan’s outing was one, but the starter, who gave up one run in five innings pitched, talked of wishing he could have kept his pitch count (81) lower, so he could have stayed in for an extra inning. The way Saturday’s game went, it might have made the difference. Instead, Alcala entered in a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning. He was promptly hit on his throwing shoulder by a Nolan Arenado batted ball to lead off the bottom of the frame. The ball rolled under shortstop Carlos Correa’s hand and into the outfield for a double. Alcala walked the next batter and gave up another hit, allowing the go-ahead run to score and spelling the end of his day. Louie Varland relieved him, attempting to do damage control, and was close to doing just that — after walking the first batter he saw, he struck out the next two. But Lars Nootbaar, whose two-run home run on Thursday helped lift the Cardinals to a victory on Opening Day, instead rocked a 98.8 mile per hour fastball to center for a two-run single, breaking open the game. All three runs were charged to Alcala, who said he did not feel anything at the time he got hit. But the right-hander said through an interpreter that he felt some tightness in his shoulder once he resumed throwing. “The video didn’t quite match up with what he was saying to us on the mound. But then he said, ‘I’m fine,’” Baldelli said. “He didn’t pitch like he was fine after that. … He didn’t throw the ball great, he wasn’t commanding the ball well at all really after he got the comebacker and that was the big inning for them.” That inning, coupled with an offense that disappeared for a bulk of the game on Saturday, sent the Twins to 0-2 on the season. From Willi Castro’s double in the second inning, which drove in Trevor Larnach for the Twins’ only run of the day, to Gasper’s infield single to lead off the eighth, the Twins’ offense went hitless. “We were hitting some balls real hard around the field and (have) nothing to show for it right now,” Gasper said. Within that stretch, 13 straight hitters were sent down, as the Twins could do little off Cardinals starter Erick Fedde and reliever Ryan Fernandez. Fedde (1-0) went six innings in his start, allowing just two hits and making life tough on the Twins. Ryan, who finished last season on the injured list after suffering a shoulder surgery in August, matched him, for the most part. After giving up a run in his first inning of work, the Twins starter settled in and threw four scoreless innings, striking out five, before departing. “Winning is everything, so it feels good to go and put our team in a good spot to do that, but, ideally, I can limit some of the pitches there, go another inning, save the bullpen, kind of set up a different situation,” Ryan said. Related Articles Twins rookie Mickey Gasper collects first MLB hit after long wait Prospect-heavy Saints win opener at CHS Field as David Festa leads way Now healthy, Joe Ryan could be a key to Twins’ success Twins never lead in Opening Day loss to Cardinals Surprise Opening Day roster inclusion not on Randy Dobnak’s bingo card ...read more read less