When the Los Angeles Angels hosted the Minnesota Twins on September 20, Dallas Baptist University had skin in the game on both sides of the mound — a rare alumni collision that put two Patriots in direct opposition at the major league level.
The Starter vs. The Reliever
Ryan Johnson took the ball for the Angels in the series opener, working 4.2 innings and punching out six Twins batters before allowing three earned runs. It was a mixed outing — the strikeout total was encouraging, the ERA (4.93) less so — but it was enough to keep Los Angeles competitive. The Twins ultimately won 8-6, though Johnson's performance generated genuine buzz about his long-term role. Sports Illustrated raised the question directly after the start: is Johnson a legitimate piece of the Angels' 2027 rotation plans? The multi-strikeout output against Minnesota was cited as evidence he might be.
On the other side of the diamond, Kody Funderburk was working out of the Twins' bullpen. The lefty appeared in relief on September 20, logging 0.2 innings as Minnesota closed out the win. It wasn't a flashy line, but Funderburk was steady — his ERA sat at 3.81 coming out of the game, a solid mark for a late-inning reliever.
Funderburk Keeps Rolling
While Johnson's next turn in the rotation remained the story in Anaheim, Funderburk kept pitching his way through Minnesota's September schedule. He appeared again on September 23 against San Francisco, recording one strikeout in a third of an inning as the Twins edged the Giants 3-2. Then, in a dominant team performance against Texas on September 26, Funderburk worked a clean inning with two more punchouts in a 10-2 blowout. His ERA ticked down to 3.71 by the end of the week — a meaningful improvement that signals he's finishing the season strong.
The Bigger Picture
What makes this week notable for DBU fans isn't just the stats — it's the optics. Two pitchers from the same mid-major program in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex faced each other in a major league series, one as a starting pitcher with rotation ambitions, the other as a trusted bullpen arm on a playoff-contending roster. That's not a coincidence you can chalk up to luck; it's a program producing professional-caliber arms at a consistent clip.
Johnson's path forward hinges on whether he can extend outings and sharpen command — the 4.93 ERA leaves room for debate. But the six-strikeout performance against a Twins lineup that includes the same hitters Funderburk faces every day in practice gives him a credible case. For Funderburk, the closing weeks of 2026 look like a job audition for a larger role in 2027. A 3.71 ERA and a strikeout-per-inning rate that's trending upward makes that case quietly but effectively.
DBU's MLB footprint is broad — 17 active alumni across the league — but this week, the Angels-Twins series was the center of the Patriots' universe.
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