Daniel Zebulon Matthews struck out the side in the first inning of Saturday’s Game 2 matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays.
But in the process, he hit a batter and then served up the following: home run, single, home run, double, single, double, single and then finally got the final two outs of the inning.
By then it was 7-0 and the Blue Jays were well out of the gates. They tacked on two more runs in the second inning, which ended Zebby’s day, and then continued to pour it on to win 15-0.
The Twins countered with four measly hits.
Here’s a dose of reality: Given the team’s injury situation — Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Brooks Lee are still missing in action — plus a Twins rotation that appears talented but not exactly major-league ready, I don’t believe the Twins have the firepower or the arms to clinch the division.
I still think they can get to post-season play via the wild card route, but it’s going to be a challenge with only two reliable starters (Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober) and three talented but inexperienced arms in Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa and Zebby Matthews. We just don’t know what we’re going to get out of that trio during each start.
Zebby’s final line: Nine runs allowed on 10 hits across two innings with five strikeouts. He falls to 1-2 on the season with a 7.41 ERA.
Bailey Ober gets the ball Sunday. Boy, does he need to step up and deliver a big win for the Twins.
Extra innings…
-The Twins were clobbered on Saturday, but they also got lucky because Cleveland, Kansas City and the Boston Red Sox all lost, too. So the American League Central standings are unchanged: The Twins remain 3.5 games back of the Guards, a game back of the Royals and they have a 3.5 game lead over the Red Sox for the final wild card spot in the AL.
-During a blowout it’s not unusual for a manager to turn to a position player and ask them to pitch so that the bullpen can be rested for another day. So far this season, Willi Castro and Matt Wallner have pitched for the Twins, but on Saturday infielder Kyle Farmer got the ball, and he was predictably rocked by the Blue Jays.
Farmer, who pitched the eighth and ninth innings, allowed three runs on five hits with a walk.
-Handed a huge lead, ex-Twin Jose Berrios cruised to his 14th win of the season. He scattered all of three hits over six innings with a walk and five strikeouts on 63 pitches. The 14 wins matches a career high in wins he accomplished twice with the Twins.
*Of course, I still want the Twins to win the division, I just don’t think they can.