Minnesota Twins Pitcher Reveals Underlying Blister Issue

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Zebby Matthews
Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins are watching their postseason hopes and dreams go up in flames. They have struggled to stay afloat down the stretch and there appears to be no end in sight. Rocco Baldelli has watched pitching become a problem for weeks, and a new injury is making it worse.

Zebby Matthews throwing through pain for Minnesota Twins

The rise of Zebby Matthews this season has been nothing short of impressive. He entered the year left off of all top prospect lists, and has now made his big league debut while climbing into the top 100. Matthews is a command artist that racks up strikeouts, but his ability to control the zone has faded in recent weeks. Phil Miller of the Star Tribune reports that the Minnesota starter has been pitching with a blister under his right middle fingernail since june.

“It’s definitely feeling better, finally. It’s been awhile. The stuff is coming out a little better because of that. We’re trending in the right direction. The trainers are doing a great job with it.”

Zebby Matthews on his blister (Star Tribune)

Through June, a period of 16 starts, Matthews owned a ridiculous 101/6 K/BB across 87.0 innings. In nine starts totaling 40.0 innings since, he owns a 45/7 K/BB. The precision is still staggering, but not quite the same by his standards. A blister doesn’t just manifest itself in stats either. The command of pitches becomes more difficult when dealing with such an issue.

Related: Minnesota Twins Add MLB Veteran to Pitching Rotation

Matthews has been forced into significant big league action during a pennant race with the Twins out of options. He has done what he can to keep the team competitive and still in the hunt. How Rocco Baldelli uses the group over the final week and a half remains to be seen.

Ultimately the Twins postseason hopes hang on just two starting pitchers. Pablo Lopez and Bailey Ober are the only remaining starters with any sort of a track record. That tandem could make noise in a short series, but Minnesota is finding it tough to stay in the race with just two arms. Against the Cleveland Guardians this week, the Twins dropped games in which both top arms turned in great outings.

The Twins are running out of time to right the ship. The Detroit Tigers are now just a half game out of tying Minnesota for the final wild card spot. Although Baldelli’s club owns the tiebreaker, it’s not a situation they should even find themselves in. Matthews likely has just one or two more turns left this season. He’ll need the best of whatever each of his digits can give him.

Related: Minnesota Twins Postseason Hopes Tied to Two Young Pitchers

Minnesota missing the playoffs would be a catastrophic failure, and largely self-induced.

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