Twins promote Zebby Matthews to start on Friday

Matthews noticed the issue while warming up prior to the sixth inning, which prompted a visit from the training staff and his eventual removal. It doesn’t sound like anything that should require a trip to the injured list, but be sure to monitor his status over the next couple of days to be on the safe side.

Matthews gave up a solo homer to Jackson Chourio in the bottom of the first inning and allowed three more runs to come across to score in the second inning as the Twins quickly found themselves down 4-0. The Twins would battle back and eventually give Matthews a 6-4 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, but he would run into a bit of trouble when he loaded the bases with no outs to begin the frame. He would get Jake Bauers to hit into a sacrifice fly to retire his first batter of the frame, and forced Williams Contreras to fly out as well. Unfortunately, Garrett Mitchell would leg out an infield single on the next at-bat to draw the game even at 6-6. Matthews would make it through the inning, but was pulled while warming up in the sixth inning after trainers came out to speak with him on the mound. We don’t yet know the specifics of his injury, but this undoubtedly puts his next scheduled start, which is set for Wednesday against the Orioles, in jeopardy.

The move keeps Matthews on schedule, as he was set to pitch at Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday but was scratched following the injury to Joe Ryan. That’ll push Taj Bradley back to Saturday and Connor Prielipp to Sunday’s series finale.

The Twins suddenly have a vacancy in their starting rotation with Joe Ryan (glute) expected to land on the injured list, so Matthews will have another opportunity to show what he can do at the game’s highest level. The 26-year-old hurler holds a 5.22 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and a 69/26 K/BB ratio over 81 innings in 14 starts with the Twins this season.

Matthews heads back to the minors with veteran Dean Kremer joining Minnesota’s rotation after being acquired from the Orioles in a trade on Friday night. The 26-year-old righty posted a career-high 10 strikeouts and allowed three runs over five innings against the Mariners on Friday night. There’s a chance injuries or ineffectiveness bring him back to the big leagues in a couple weeks, but there simply isn’t a spot for him as the Twins make a legitimate playoff push.

Matthews succeeded at getting ahead in the count against a subpar offense and picked up four strikeouts with his fastball, three with his slider and two with his cutter. It’s his first ever 10-strikeout game after a pair of nine-K outings as a rookie last year. His previous high this year had been seven. Matthews might have another generous start coming up against the Royals, depending on how exactly the Twins choose to insert Dean Kremer into the mix. It’s possible Matthews will lose his spot and return to Triple-A for a spell.

Matthews got off to an incredible start in this game by facing the minimum 12 batters over the first four innings. Then, he labored through both the fifth and sixth and was fortunate to escape both of those jams with just one run scored in each. He did not miss many bats and struggled to locate most of his pitches, but did see a nearly two mile per hour velocity bump across the board. Still, he’s not a trustworthy option with a 5.21 ERA, 59 strikeouts, and 24 walks through 76 innings this season. He’s scheduled to face the Mariners in Seattle next time out.

Yikes. Two of the runs were unearned, but all of this was deserved. Matthews gave up nine hits and three walks, and while he did fan four hitters, he was in consistent trouble and obviously didn’t escape it very often. The right-hander’s ERA ballooned to 5.40 with this outing, and unfortunately, it’s a reminder that the talented 26-year-old still has some work to do before he can be counted on as a consistent fantasy option. He’s set to face the A’s next weekend with a chance to rebound.

He’ll be followed by Taj Bradley on Saturday afternoon and Zebby Matthews on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field. The expectation is that Joe Ryan would then start on Monday against the Guardians in Cleveland. Ober is coming off of a decent first half where he registered a 4.40 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a 51/19 K/BB ratio over 71 2/3 innings in his first 13 starts.

Matthews was on roll early in this game. His slider had plenty of bite, he was missing bats, and he got through the first three innings without a blemish. Then, things unraveled in the following two frames with the low point being a balk that forced home a run. Still, he settled down just enough to get through the sixth inning despite walking a batter and giving up two singles, bailed out by a double play and heads up play by Kody Clemens to tag Wade Meckler trying to take an uncovered second base. Regardless, Matthews closed out an uneven first half with a 4.57 ERA, 54 strikeouts, and 18 walks across 67 innings.