Box Score
SP: Zebby Matthews: 6 P, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 81 pitches, 54 strikes (66.7%)
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Zebby Matthews, (.358), Jhoan Duran (.160), Griffin Jax (.120)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):
Wheeling and Dealing
Zebby Matthews began the game dispensing his fastballs with a tick of extra velocity, starting the game with two strikeouts and a weak groundout. His second inning includes a nice little throw to first on a tricky roller out of the box, beating Jeffers to the ball and getting the out just in time.
Opposite Matthews was the All-Star Mackenzie Gore, just one of many pieces the Nationals acquired in the Juan Soto trade. The lengthy southpaw came out shaky as he had in many of his recent starts, putting Ryan Jeffers and Carlos Correa on before getting the red-hot Royce Lewis to scrape under a ball for a soft fly out and escape the inning. The second looked just as promising for the Twins with walks to Harrison Bader and Ty France, but a Matt Wallner fly out and double play off a Brooks Lee ground out ended the worry.
Both pitchers continue to cruise through the next few innings without much traffic. Matthews finally let a two out double to Luis Garcia Jr. break up a potential new hitter in the fourth, but Harrison Bader snagged a foul ball from Josh Bell on the very next pitch. Gore’s pitch count had reached 77 with two outs but a poor run from Harrison Bader resulted in his fourth time caught on a stolen base attempt this season.
Escaping a Gore-y Blow Out
Gore continued to look shaky into the fifth, allowing Wallner (the sole lefty in the line up) walk on four pitches. His command went haywire with two wild pitches to put Wallner on third and Lee at first. Buxton got on top of one on a 3-1 count, but the 112 MPH whack was only enough to get Wallner home on a sacrifice fly. Gore escaped as Jeffers watched a ball float by for a strikeout, having only thrown only 54% of his pitches for strike.
The Nationals turned to the bullpen to begin the sixth and the Twins went to work with Correa lobbing a single to right and Lewis slapping a hard double to left. A Ty France hit-by-pitch loaded the bases before interim skipper Miguel Cairo went to another lefty against Wallner. The pinch-hit trigger-happy Rocco Baldelli had his hands tied with Christian Vázquez as the only righty on the bench. The plan worked with Wallner landing one easily in Daylen Lile’s glove in right field.
Easy Closing
Matthews finished the night with his first Quality Start of his career, sporting seven strikeouts and only two men on base all night on 81 pitches. It was deserving for a pitcher whose underlying numbers have suggested a top line starter. With the Nationals sporting a lefty heavy line up and the Twins carrying a one run lead, Danny Coulombe took over with three easy fly outs.
Jax looked to recover from his Dodger Stadium blunder but once again saw traffic on the bases. Lile punched one over France’s glove for a double in the corner while Jax walked #9 hitter Jacob Young. Thankfully, the final hit off Jax this time amounted to a harmless CJ Abrams fly out to Willi Castro.
The offense remained relatively quiet with both Luis García and Jose Ferrer keeping the bases clean. Jhoan Duran proved his worth to the scouts scattered around the park with a strikeout at 102 and two weak grounders to end the ball game. It was the first 1-0 win for the squad since June 2nd, 2023.
News & Notes
—For retro weekend in celebration of the Hall of Fame, the Twins wore the classic M hats, while the Nationals wore the original “DC” hats from their inaugural season in 2005. Should have gone with an Expos hat, in my opinion.
—Kody Funderburk joined the bullpen as Anthony Misiewicz, last seen leaving an eighth inning mess in Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, went to the 15-day IL with a left shoulder impingement
—Denard Span is on the broadcast this weekend, his first ever at Target Field.
—Target Field decided to join in the fun with the Meme of the Week:
What’s Next?
The Twins continue the series with the Nationals as All Star Joe Ryan (10-4, 2.63 ERA) takes on another southpaw in Mitchell Parker (6-10, 5.00 ERA).
Postgame Interview
Coming Soon.
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
SUN
MON
TUE
WED
THU
TOT
Jax
8
0
20
20
25
73
Durán
16
0
24
0
6
46
Varland
0
7
16
15
0
38
Sands
0
28
0
0
0
28
Coulombe
0
0
10
16
11
37
Stewart
0
0
12
0
0
12
Funderburk
0
0
0
0
0
0
Topa
0
0
0
0
0
0