Matthews turns corner finishing off innings with 2 outs

MINNEAPOLIS – Zebby Matthews was looking to improve his performance in one key area on Wednesday. He did that and more in an impressive outing against the White Sox.

Matthews threw six strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits before Chicago scored three runs in the ninth to beat the Twins, 4-3, at Target Field.

An inability to get out of an inning when he was one pitch away from putting a zero on the scoreboard has plagued Matthews of late. For example, take a look at his five August starts:

• Aug. 29 vs. San Diego – two earned runs allowed, both with two outs
• Aug. 22 at Chicago White Sox – four runs allowed, three with two outs
• Aug. 16 vs. Detroit – two runs allowed, one with two outs
• Aug. 11 at New York Yankees – three runs allowed, all with two outs
• Aug. 5 at Detroit – one run allowed with two outs

So in five August games (25 1/3 innings total), Matthews allowed 12 earned runs, and 10 of them crossed the plate with two outs on the scoreboard. He’s spoken of the need to be better at finishing off innings, and he did just that on Wednesday. Chicago’s lone run off Matthews came on a leadoff homer by Edgar Quero in the second inning. In six innings, the White Sox went 0-for-6 with two outs against Matthews.

Of those six outs, two were hard-hit fly balls – but those came with nobody on base. One was a strikeout. And three came off weak contact, including the final out Matthews got. Twins-killer Andrew Benintendi came to bat in the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first, and Matthews fooled him with a changeup that induced an infield popup that left the bat at 60.4 mph, per Statcast.

Matthews talked about how he kept the White Sox from extending innings as previous opponents have done against him.

“The two-out runs have kind of been an issue for me so far, but I kind of just told myself out there, 'Once we got two outs, just finish the inning. Keep attacking,'” Matthews said. “A lot of times I think, with two outs, you can kind of get a little comfortable out there. Try to just keep attacking hitters, keep them on their toes as best as possible, and get the team back in the dugout.”

Since coming off a six-week stint on the IL resting a right shoulder strain, Matthews has shown up and taken the ball every fifth day for nearly two months. The 25-year-old right-hander is one of the young arms the Twins are counting on to be a workhorse in the rotation next season, so team management will keep a close eye on how he finishes out this one.

“Finishing a Major League season, which is a long year, on a strong, positive note, continually taking the ball and showing up and doing it, is a real thing,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “You have to conquer that in some way. You’ve got to come out and succeed towards the end of the year. There’s a physical element to it, there’s a mental side of it. Before you can know you can do it, you’ve got to go out there and do it.

“Zebby is doing that now. That’s the kind of September outing you really like to see from a young player.”