Twins 5, White Sox 1: Zebby Matthews Stops the Bleeding, Twins Avoid Sweep

[Hans Birkeland]

Image courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Zebby Matthews: 8 1/3 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K (103 Pitches, 67 Strikes, 65%)
Home Runs: Luke Keaschall (9)
Bottom 3 WPA: Matthews (0.27), Josh Bell (0.16), Trevor Larnach (0.13)
Win Probability Chart (Via BaseballSavant):

It's been strange watching this Twins team run out of gas, even while looking pretty interesting for next year and beyond. Luke Keaschall, Trevor Larnach, Kody Clemens and Brooks Lee have all looked pretty good, despite the offense going in the tank in the second half. Add in that Kaelen Culpepper and Walker Jenkins have impressed offensively in their limited action thus far, with Vahn Lackey and Marek Houston on the way. You can see the makings of a decent rotation with better injury luck, and the bullpen, on paper, should be fairly solid. But August has shown that assembling talent isn't everything. The Twins have scored when they don't pitch well and have pitched well when they can't score. Today, they bucked that trend, as Zebby Matthews looked great.

Matthews stayed out of the heart of the zone for the most part, and his misses were competitive. As he showed in his last start when he induced 23 whiffs, Matthews has learned how to miss bats enough to at least keep hitters somewhat honest. White Sox hitters seemed caught between trying to ambush Matthews and trying to work counts. When they swung early in the count, the best Chicago could do was hit medium-deep fly balls, and you could see them press a little as Matthews settled in.

The White Sox have had some starting pitching injuries and today relied on a bullpen game, with Jordan Hicks and his 100-MPH sinker getting the first inning. He started by walking Keaschall. Lee followed with a grounder back to Hicks, who threw to second to retire Keaschall, but Colson Montgomery's relay was terrible, allowing Lee to reach. Clemens then struck out, but Ryan Jeffers walked and Josh Bell singled home Lee. That prompted manager Will Venable to go to lefty Tyler Gilbert to face Larnach, who doubled sharply down the right-field line to score both runners.

The second inning began with a solid single from Culpepper. Jenkins got a pitch to hit and lined it directly to Munetaka Murekami at first base, who stepped on first for the double play, ending the rally before it began.

The third began with a Lee single, but he, too, was erased on a double play. Jeffers doubled off the wall in right-center, and Bell singled him home to extend the lead to four.

Still perfect through four innings, Matthews kept throwing strikes and gave up some hard contact. Jenkins got his first real test in center, as he made a jumping catch at the wall to rob Andrew Benintendi of an extra-base hit.

The sixth began with a dribbler off the bat of Tristan Peters, and though Matthews bobbled it, he recovered in time to retire the speedy outfielder. He would get to 5 2/3 innings perfect before allowing a 3-2 single to .142-hitting Drew Romo. Sam Antonocci followed with an excuse-me double, but Matthews bore down to retire Murakami on a fly out to end the frame.

The sixth and seventh innings have been cursed for the Twins in August, but not only did Matthews escape the sixth, he also pitched an uneventful 1-2-3 seventh with his pitch count at 80. He allowed a Peters single in the eighth but worked around it, pitching to the bottom of the Sox lineup.

Matthews got the nod to start the ninth, too. Despite getting ahead of Antonacci, he eventually allowed a sharp single up the middle to begin the frame. He retired Murakami for the fourth time, but Miguel Vargas laced a single to left to spell the end of the road for the Twins starter. Jeff Hoffman came on to face Benintendi and Brayden Montgomery. He got the former but lost the latter to an RBI single to break up the shutout. The other Montgomery (Colson) then popped out to end the game.

Stuff I'm Tracking:

• Matthews was great today, but do you know who looked great at this time last year? Simeon Woods Richardson. Matthews needs to stack up these performances if he's going to be a long-term fixture in the Twins' rotation. His August has been a good start: five starts, all wins for the team, 31 IP with a 2.90 ERA.
• Jenkins looks really comfortable, despite not getting many good results thus far.
• Are we thinking Culpepper moves to third when Houston arrives? Or is the team concerned with jerking around Lee (note: they shouldn't be)? Culpepper has a great arm, but his instincts at shortstop make me a little nauseous. Then again, with less time to think, maybe Culpepper makes a great third baseman and Lee (theoretically) would make a great second baseman. The question, then, is what to do with Royce Lewis and Kody Clemens, but whatever they decide, it's a lot better than the Jose Miranda-Lee-Keaschall-Ty France thing we had going at points last year. Or anything involving Tristan Gray this year.
• Jeffers looks really slow running to first these days. Despite today's double, he hasn't hit much lately. I wonder if he's nursing some soft-tissue injury that catchers are legally required to play through lest they get labeled as something short of "the ultimate competitor."

What’s Next: The Twins welcome the Detroit Tigers to Target Field with Taj Bradley (9-6, 3.97 ERA) taking on Jackson Jobe (1-1, 3.93 ERA). Jobe is back in the majors after a lengthy absence due to Tommy John surgery and his velocity has been good, averaging 97 MPH on his fastball. Bradley hasn't had many blow-ups outside of a rough appearance in the Field of Dreams game, but hasn't been as dominant as he was in April and July. If the team has any designs on a 2007 Rockies/2024 Tigers/2025 Guardians type run, Bradley will have to pitch his best.

Postgame Interviews: Coming Soon

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	WED	THUR	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOT
Morris	16	0	0	27	0	43
Rogers	0	0	38	0	0	38
Funderburk	18	0	18	0	0	36
Adams	0	0	26	0	0	26
Gomez	0	0	0	25	0	25
Minter	0	0	0	20	0	20
Hoffman	6	0	0	0	13	19
Nance	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

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[Cory Engelhardt]

I think Clemens is a useful utility guy. I don't know that he should be a starter on a team. I don't know what to make of Royce; he has the bat speed but man does he chase a LOT. When he is hot, he is HOT. When he isn't, he almost looks unplayable. 

I think Lee is the 3b and Culpepper is the 2b if Marek Houston is ready. I also wouldn't be shocked if Tom Pohlad and the front office try to bring in a bigger name player for one of the spots and the team tries and figures it out. I mean, if he truly wants to win, then maybe that's a play. There was smoke around Neto, and I don't know if he is the answer, but the Twins were open to the idea. We'll see.

Fun win today. Keep it up Zebby. And I do think Zebby with his control and his stuff is a LOT better chance to stick in the rotation than SWR was. I don't think that's a fair comparison at this stage of Zebby's career.

[Mike Sixel]

WTF? Comparing him to SWR after a great start. Why? Why not just be happy?

Lee has been very good since moving to third. How is this even a debate? KC moves to second when Houston comes up. 

[mikelink45]

I am a big Zebby fan - maybe it is the name - I teach a lot of history and Zebulon Pike is fascinating.  No SWR comparisons.  I no longer believe in the WC - but I would like a nice end of the season,  

[90stwinskid]

Good for Zebby. Jenkins looks good.

Culpepper seems to have the arm for 3rd. Not sure where Lee goes -- could be a 2b with the occasional start at 3rd? Houston might be the only infielder with a fixed position every day once he's called up. We'll see.

Jenkins era: 1-2

Post-deadline: 9-15 (ugh)

Overall: 65-72 (more ugh)

 

 

 

 

 

[PuckettPond]

Zebby is more valuable than Ober. What will the Twins do with Ober next season when the other pitchers are healthy? Is Ober the backup school in case one gets rejected by their 1st choice? Zebby is the type of pitcher every contending team needs in their rotation.

[Danchat]

Give me Zebby over Ober and Kremer in the rotation next year. 

6 minutes ago, PuckettPond said:

Zebby is more valuable than Ober. What will the Twins do with Ober next season when the other pitchers are healthy?

My initial thought is that Ober gets traded - not for a big return, but for something because teams need starting pitching. The Twins have enough options at the back of the rotation and might not want to lock in paying Ober and Kremer what might be a combined $14-16M rather than pencil in Zebby and Abel/Rojas into a spot. I think Kremer will be back and will be in the rotation, so it'd be Bradley/Lopez/Ryan/Matthews/Kremer and next up Abel/Prielipp/Rojas/Paredes. Pretty good depth. Maybe they think about a Ryan trade if an extension is off the table.

[Coach]

Thank you Twins for ending the weekend on a high note.

As happy as I am, I had to take issue with the timing of stolen bases, or lack of. 

[Glorybound]

Nice to see Zebby showing some real confidence. The front office needs to make some moves this off season. It’s time to move this franchise in a winning direction. Example trade two left handed hitting outfielders for a solid mid to late inning reliever. What they did last offseason is not going to work.

[Wedman13]

In the oddest of ways, and I'm being vulnerable here, Bell has really worn on me in a positive way.  I hate even watching him swing but he's a pro.  Not quite man-crush level but I'd consider running him back despite having zero timeline with the new corp.  Some vets are needed.

Jenkins will be good and I'm glad he has young running mates.  Keaschall, no idea where he plays but the kid can rake and is a baller

like someone mentioned earlier, I think #23 is odd man out unfortunately.  Clemens would be a great utility guy, and I do like his swing, but that's his best role.

opinion only

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, Wedman13 said:

In the oddest of ways, and I'm being vulnerable here, Bell has really worn on me in a positive way.  I hate even watching him swing but he's a pro.  Not quite man-crush level but I'd consider running him back despite having zero timeline with the new corp.  Some vets are needed.

Jenkins will be good and I'm glad he has young running mates.  Keaschall, no idea where he plays but the kid can rake and is a baller

like someone mentioned earlier, I think #23 is odd man out unfortunately.  Clemens would be a great utility guy, and I do like his swing, but that's his best role.

opinion only

Lee and Lewis are veterans at this point. Both catchers. Clemens. Buxton. I'm not sure I get your point? Zero interest in a super old guy who can only DH, and is only decent at it, not awesome. 

[Coach]

21 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Give me Zebby over Ober and Kremer in the rotation next year. 

My initial thought is that Ober gets traded - not for a big return, but for something because teams need starting pitching. The Twins have enough options at the back of the rotation and might not want to lock in paying Ober and Kremer what might be a combined $14-16M rather than pencil in Zebby and Abel/Rojas into a spot. I think Kremer will be back and will be in the rotation, so it'd be Bradley/Lopez/Ryan/Matthews/Kremer and next up Abel/Prielipp/Rojas/Paredes. Pretty good depth. Maybe they think about a Ryan trade if an extension is off the table.

Jettison Kremer (trade) if he doesn't prove or improve himself in spring training.  We know what we have in Ober, just sometimes he needs a shorter leash.

[HarmonK03]

37 minutes ago, 90stwinskid said:

Good for Zebby. Jenkins looks good.

Culpepper seems to have the arm for 3rd. Not sure where Lee goes -- could be a 2b with the occasional start at 3rd? Houston might be the only infielder with a fixed position every day once he's called up. We'll see.

Jenkins era: 1-2

Post-deadline: 9-15 (ugh)

Overall: 65-72 (more ugh)

 

 

 

 

 

We need a new front office that will stop the musical chairs.  If Culpepper has to move off short, it should be 2B, Lee has earned 3B.  No moving him and Culpepper around.

[HarmonK03]

31 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Give me Zebby over Ober and Kremer in the rotation next year. 

My initial thought is that Ober gets traded - not for a big return, but for something because teams need starting pitching. The Twins have enough options at the back of the rotation and might not want to lock in paying Ober and Kremer what might be a combined $14-16M rather than pencil in Zebby and Abel/Rojas into a spot. I think Kremer will be back and will be in the rotation, so it'd be Bradley/Lopez/Ryan/Matthews/Kremer and next up Abel/Prielipp/Rojas/Paredes. Pretty good depth. Maybe they think about a Ryan trade if an extension is off the table.

Prielipp and Matthews have earned the right to be in the rotation next year until someone shows they are better.  Kremer or Ober if they are on the roster should be pitching out of the bullpen.  Just because we traded for Kremer, he should not be handed a spot.

[90stwinskid]

3 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

We need a new front office that will stop the musical chairs.  If Culpepper has to move off short, it should be 2B, Lee has earned 3B.  No moving him and Culpepper around.

Agreed. I would like to see us quit moving players around.

[MeleMouth]

I like Zebby and he got great results today, but we should go a little slower on projecting anything for him from this game, because the Sox hit him pretty hard.

Royce was en fuego the first half of August, then his great luck on batted balls flipped to bad in the second half of the month and the league started pitching him a little differently. His results for the last two weeks are probably somewhat bad luck, but his actual OPS for August 13-29 (not including today's 0-3) is .392 and even if he had normal luck it would be below .550. Historically, he has struggled to make adjustments. It's going to be an interesting September for him.

I'd also go slow on writing off Culpepper at SS. He's a great athlete and a smart guy; what we're seeing now might just be growing pains. He's also by far the most likely of all known candidates to start at SS when the 2027 season begins, so he's going to get more learning opportunities. 

[HarmonK03]

17 minutes ago, Wedman13 said:

In the oddest of ways, and I'm being vulnerable here, Bell has really worn on me in a positive way.  I hate even watching him swing but he's a pro.  Not quite man-crush level but I'd consider running him back despite having zero timeline with the new corp.  Some vets are needed.

Jenkins will be good and I'm glad he has young running mates.  Keaschall, no idea where he plays but the kid can rake and is a baller

like someone mentioned earlier, I think #23 is odd man out unfortunately.  Clemens would be a great utility guy, and I do like his swing, but that's his best role.

opinion only

You have Buxton and Clemens as vets, let's get talent on the team.  The first thing they need to do is figure out their identity.  Do they want to be more athletic, then Bell definitely should be nowhere this team.

But they need new leadership in the front office that can define a plan and execute it.  Then you decide which players fit and which don't.

[Wedman13]

17 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Lee and Lewis are veterans at this point. Both catchers. Clemens. Buxton. I'm not sure I get your point? Zero interest in a super old guy who can only DH, and is only decent at it, not awesome. 

From the grave, Don Baylor disagrees with you.

 

[HarmonK03]

1 minute ago, MeleMouth said:

I like Zebby and he got great results today, but we should go a little slower on projecting anything for him from this game, because the Sox hit him pretty hard.

Royce was en fuego the first half of August, then his great luck on batted balls flipped to bad in the second half of the month and the league started pitching him a little differently. His results for the last two weeks are probably somewhat bad luck, but his actual OPS for August 13-29 (not including today's 0-3) is .392 and even if he had normal luck it would be below .550. Historically, he has struggled to make adjustments. It's going to be an interesting September for him.

I'd also go slow on writing off Culpepper at SS. He's a great athlete and a smart guy; what we're seeing now might just be growing pains. He's also by far the most likely of all known candidates to start at SS when the 2027 season begins, so he's going to get more learning opportunities. 

Why don't you look at Matthew's results for the season, he has had 15 good starts out of 18 and is averaging almost 6 innings a start.  And he keeps his team in almost every game.  And he has gotten stronger in August.

And good job of cherry picking stats on Lewis.  Yes he has struggled the last two weeks of August but still has a batting ave of .277 and OPS of .708.  And he has been one of our top hitters since coming back from St. Paul.  Yet Clemens who has been ice cold the month keeps hitting in the middle of the order.

 

[Wedman13]

4 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

You have Buxton and Clemens as vets, let's get talent on the team.  The first thing they need to do is figure out their identity.  Do they want to be more athletic, then Bell definitely should be nowhere this team.

But they need new leadership in the front office that can define a plan and execute it.  Then you decide which players fit and which don't.

You are right.  Does Tim Connelly have a brother, or time to do both jobs?  (Yes Basketball is easier due to equal salary caps and he has strong ownership) but there... there is a vision in action.   

[Coach]

10 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

You have Buxton and Clemens as vets, let's get talent on the team.  The first thing they need to do is figure out their identity.  Do they want to be more athletic, then Bell definitely should be nowhere this team.

But they need new leadership in the front office that can define a plan and execute it.  Then you decide which players fit and which don't.

Buck needs to step back and take a lesser role (RF or LF) but still stay large in the clubhouse

[SteveLV]

I am still not sold that Lewis' bat justifies taking 1B.  Hope he hits well, but skeptical....

Lee or Culpepper to 2nd once Houston arrives would be fine.  Culpepper might settle in better with time and experience at SS, too.

[HarmonK03]

Just now, Coach said:

Buck needs to step back and take a lesser role (RF or LF) but still stay large in the clubhouse

I don't disagree with that, but he will here for two more years, so we don't need to go search for a fringe to fill some vague role because they are good in the clubhouse.

[Coach]

Resign Bell. Talk done.

[HarmonK03]

3 minutes ago, Wedman13 said:

You are right.  Does Tim Connelly have a brother, or time to do both jobs?  (Yes Basketball is easier due to equal salary caps and he has strong ownership) but there... there is a vision in action.   

I have said multiple times, Tom P. needs to walk across the street.  Tim C. is willing to make moves to make the team better even if it is not the conventional move.

[HarmonK03]

Just now, Coach said:

Resign Bell. Talk done.

Why

[Coach]

1 minute ago, HarmonK03 said:

Why

The numbers dictate it, plus have you ever noticed the other players are always in his ear in the dugout?  Chili Davis reincarnated.

[GNess]

 

Outlook for the position players:

The short and medium term success of the team at this point rests with the young core who look like they have some upside to grow in to: Lee. Keaschall, Jenkins, Culpepper and one-two from the minors - ERod, Gonzalez, Houston (?).

Lewis, Clemens, Caratini, Buxton all seem pretty much what they are already.

This leaves a need for at least one big bat to be sure. Will they pay for such - seems possible

Plus SS and C need to be addressed.

I suspect they will deal Larnach for whatever he can fetch.

Jeffers - can they resign him? Lackey and/or Tinney almost certainly will not be ready.

Would Houston be ready out of Spring Training - possible, but not likely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HarmonK03]

Just now, Coach said:

The numbers dictate it, plus have you ever noticed the other players are always in his ear in the dugout?  Chili Davis reincarnated.

First we have no idea of the direction of the team, because they need to figure out a lot things.  And one of those is get more athletic, why sacrifice that for a league average DH.  Bell has done ok, but it's not like he is elite or outstanding.  And based on his history will he be able to repeat his production.

[HarmonK03]

1 minute ago, GNess said:

 

Outlook for the position players:

The short and medium term success of the team at this point rests with the young core who look like they have some upside to grow in to: Lee. Keaschall, Jenkins, Culpepper and one-two from the minors - ERod, Gonzalez, Houston (?).

Lewis, Clemens, Caratini, Buxton all seem pretty much what they are already.

This leaves a need for at least one big bat to be sure. Will they pay for such - seems possible

Plus SS and C need to be addressed.

I suspect they will deal Larnach for whatever he can fetch.

Jeffers - can they resign him? Lackey and/or Tinney almost certainly will not be ready.

Would Houston be ready out of Spring Training - possible, but not likely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They will be better off to non tender Larnach, if he gets the projected $7-$8m in arbitration, not many teams will take him.  It's a sunk cost time, if he's not part of the future, then just move on.