Twins’ Joe Ryan expected to start Saturday after enduring ‘genuinely the worst illness I’ve ever had’

Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan was watching a movie during the team’s off day Monday when he felt the chills and started shaking.

Once he returned home, he laid down and began vomiting.

“Oh dude, it’s genuinely the worst illness I’ve ever had,” said Ryan, who was scratched from his start Thursday. “It was like I threw up 20 times in five hours or something. ... It was just miserable. I didn’t really sleep. The sweats were horrible. Fever was bad. The next day, I tried to eat a little bit more and I just felt weak.”

Ryan is not sure what caused his illness, though Harrison Bader missed Tuesday’s game because he was ill, too. The Twins informed their starting pitchers to prepare for adjusting their schedules. Bailey Ober was moved up to Thursday, which was still his regular four days’ rest because of the off day, and Chris Paddack is scheduled to pitch Friday’s series opener against San Francisco.

After throwing a bullpen session before Thursday’s game, Ryan is expected to start Saturday vs. the Giants.

“I’ve been dealing with something for the last two weeks where I feel kind of nauseous, and I don’t get like that, really, ever,” Ryan said. “In between innings, every time my heart gets up, I just felt like I was going to gag.

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“It hasn’t felt like it did on Monday. It felt like it was 2 percent of what actually happened [Monday]. Some nausea or whatever, then all of a sudden gone.”

The Twins would have made a roster move for a starting pitcher if they were unable to move Ober and Paddack up a day for their scheduled starts.

“I was able to get the appropriate preparation in, scout these guys, and I was able to learn and watch a lot from the last two games,” Ober said after he gave up two runs (one earned) in five innings during Thursday’s 5-2 victory over Baltimore.

Ober pitched after an illness in his season debut, and he was knocked around for eight hits and eight runs in 2⅔ innings in a loss at St. Louis.

Did that have any effect in the decision to push Ryan’s start back?

“Guys play this game all the time not close to 100 percent,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I don’t want to say it changed the way we thought about it. We judge all these different situations differently. Every one of them has specifics and different guys get sick different days. It’s all specific to the situation.”

Orioles third baseman Emmanuel Rivera was already rounding third when Byron Buxton uncorked his throw to the plate in the sixth inning Thursday. The center fielder one-hop throw beat Rivera to home for a key out in the Twins’ victory.

“I can’t imagine an outfield defense that’s helping their team win games the way ours does,” Baldelli said.

It was the second time Buxton threw out a runner at the plate this year, and both were in the past week. He started a relay to toss out Boston’s Jarren Duran last Friday.

“Perfect throw,” Twins catcher Christian Vázquez said of Thursday’s one-hop throw. “It was a slow runner from second base to home. He’s got a great arm, so it was a perfect throw.”

Pitcher Cole Sands added: “Any time he’s throwing the ball, he’s got a quick release, he’s obviously quick to get to the ball, too. I thought there was a chance.”

The Twins unveiled a Hulk-themed entrance video for reliever Louie Varland on Tuesday.

“It just kind of came about,” Varland said. “I OK’d it. I mean, it was a cool video when it was showed to me, so I said, ‘All right, let’s just do it.’ … I mean, as I go from the pen to the mound, I don’t watch or anything. It’s not like it hypes me up. It’s more for the fans.”

Varland, a North St. Paul native, is the third Twins reliever with a grand entrance video, joining Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax. He quickly heard about it from teammates.

“They thought it was funny,” Varland said. “I don’t know if many people take it seriously yet.”

• As the Twins swept the Orioles in their three-game series, Twins relievers combined to pitch 12⅓ scoreless innings. “We’ve got some dawgs in the pen,” Trevor Larnach said. “At the beginning of spring when I faced them, I knew that.”

• Austin Martin returned to the St. Paul Saints’ seven-day injured list because of a right hamstring strain. He reinjured his hamstring Monday when he scored on a double steal in the first inning.

• Mickey Gasper, starting at catcher, hit a walk-off, three-run homer in the ninth inning as the St. Paul Saints beat Buffalo 13-10 at CHS Field. Twins righthander Michael Tonkin, on a rehab assignment, retired four of 10 batters, giving up two runs on three hits, two walks and a hit batsman.