Zebby Matthews had finally found his footing in the big leagues. Then he literally cut his foot on something and had to leave Saturday’s game against the New York Yankees.
The Minnesota Twins starter exited the Fourth of July matchup with a right foot laceration, according to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. It’s the latest blow for a pitching staff that’s already held together with tape and hope.
What happened in the Bronx
Matthews lasted 4 2/3 innings before calling it a day. He gave up four runs on three hits, including home runs from Jasson Dominguez and Max Schuemann. He walked four and struck out five. His ERA climbed from 4.15 to 4.43.
It’s a tough break for a guy who was just starting to look like a capable Major League pitcher. The 26-year-old right-hander had allowed a combined six runs over his last 20 innings entering Saturday, with solid outings against the Astros, Dodgers and Rangers. Those are three good offenses. He was building something.
Before that, his season had been a mess. The 2022 eighth-round draft pick has been searching for consistency since he got called up, and the Twins need him to find it.
The bigger problem in Minnesota
This isn’t happening in a vacuum. The Twins rotation is a disaster right now. Bailey Ober and Mick Abel are both on the injured list. Pablo Lopez is done for the year after elbow surgery. Minnesota has the fourth-worst ERA in baseball at 4.84. That’s not a typo. That’s a crisis.
The team has been searching for competent innings from anybody, anywhere. For a couple of weeks, Matthews was that guy. Now he’s dealing with a cut on his foot and the team has to figure out what’s next. He’ll probably get further evaluation and then decide on a plan.
Nobody expected the 42-47 Twins to be in a wild-card race, but here they are, three games back of the Mariners for the final spot in the AL. This series against the Yankees was supposed to be a gut check. So far it’s been more of a pain in the foot.
Derek Shelton’s team is hanging in there though. They’re not exactly rolling over for the Yankees. Minnesota is actually in position to tie the series in New York. That’s something. The question is whether they can keep patching together a rotation long enough to make a real push.
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