MINNEAPOLIS — In a tumultuous season that has seen extensive roster turnover, Joe Ryan has been a constant for the Twins.

So when Ryan has a rough game, as he did on Tuesday in a 6-3 loss to the Athletics, it shows. The right-hander suffered from some unmade plays behind him, but all the same, he lasted only four innings, his shortest non-injury-affected outing since Sept. 6, 2023. Pierson Ohl contributed four solid innings in relief, but to some extent that just magnifies the issue, since Ohl could have been a candidate to start Thursday’s game against the A’s.

That game remains “TBA” for a probable starting pitcher, with only Ryan, Bailey Ober, and Zebby Matthews as settled, regular members of the Twins’ current rotation. Minnesota has three pitchers on the injured list.

That leaves Ryan as the anchor, and for the most part he has lived up to the job. He’s allowed more than two earned runs only twice in his previous 12 starts. That has been essential with all of the moving parts around him.

And although he came out scorching on Tuesday, retiring eight straight after a cue-shot leadoff double, Ryan quickly saw his outing unravel and found himself finished uncharacteristically early. A two-run Shea Langeliers homer in the third and a leaky three-run fourth did him in.

“Much shorter than I would have liked,” Ryan said. “That gets frustrating.”

The fourth will sting for a bit. Tyler Soderstrom reached on an infield single, and Lawrence Butler hit a double that caromed off of second baseman Luke Keaschall. Darell Hernaiz reached when first baseman Kody Clemens couldn’t handle a throw, and after a strikeout, Brett Harris hit a looper to shallow right field. Keaschall chased it down but couldn’t throw out Soderstrom after Soderstrom tagged up, making it 3-1.

If Keaschall had been able to throw out Soderstrom — no easy assignment — the inning would’ve been over. Instead, the A’s brought home two more runs on a single and a double, and Ryan didn’t return for the fifth.

“I mean, I definitely get frustrated at times and a little confused,” Ryan said. “But at the same time, when it comes to delivering a pitch, you’ve got to lock it in and take responsibility for that.”

Seven pitchers have made at least 10 starts for Minnesota. Seven more have started at least once. Seven pitchers have started a game for the Twins in August alone.

Beyond the trio of Ryan, Ober and Matthews, the club has pieced together starts from a group that has included rookies like Ohl and journeyman veterans who have pitched both as starters and out of the bullpen, and sometimes used openers as well.

“This is one of the scenarios that are exactly what Pierson’s here for,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “He’s able to do that. It’s good to have options and guys that can go three and four innings and you don’t have to think twice about it. You can just bring them right in the game and let them pitch.”

Still, the somewhat threadbare rotation depth magnifies Ryan’s importance, as does the lack of established shutdown arms in the bullpen. Part of why the Twins are relying on pitchers like Ohl to give them relief innings is that they don’t have many reliable short relievers.

There may be good news on the way, however. Simeon Woods Richardson made a Minor League rehabilitation start Friday after missing time due to illness.

Pablo López is closing in on a rehab start of his own, having faced hitters over the weekend before throwing a bullpen session Tuesday.

But for now, they’re both out, and Ryan’s starts every fifth day will continue to stand out as important opportunities for the Twins to win games.

“I don’t think about all that, I’ll be honest,” he said. “I just try to do my job and control everything [I can control], let everything else kind of control itself. Fall where it needs to. I’m just pitching and executing, so that’s enough to focus on. Anything else is just for you guys [media], and for the fans.”