Twins takeaways: Buxton, Wallner almost back, Matthews steps forward, McCusker collects dust

New York Times

7 days ago

MINNEAPOLIS — One clutch hit away from a third straight walk-off win over the Kansas City Royals, the Minnesota Twins came up empty with two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the 10th inning Sunday and had to settle for taking two out of three games versus their division rivals.
Despite the 2-1 defeat ruining a potential sweep, the Twins have won 16 of their last 19 games and are 6-0-1 in seven May series, improving from 13-20 to 29-23 to move into a tie for second place in the American League Central and the AL's top wild-card spot.
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Pitching has carried the Twins all season, especially this month, with the lineup scoring two runs or fewer in each of Minnesota's four May losses. But hitting help is coming soon, with Byron Buxton and Matt Wallner nearing returns from the injured list.
Buxton awaits MLB clearance for activation from the concussion injured list after his May 15 collision with Carlos Correa, but he was in good spirits in the clubhouse Sunday morning, ran on the field before the game and is traveling with the team for the upcoming 10-game road trip.
'I think we're going assessment by assessment right now,' manager Rocco Baldelli said. 'I think he's ready to get back and play. But we need all of the doctors to put all of the check marks down, and to make sure he's ready. We have to make sure that he's good to go.'
Throw a fastball to @Matt_Wallner at your own peril. #MNTwins fans knows what he does with those. Clubs a solo shot to right-center in his second Major League rehab at bat. 37th homer as a Saint, 11 shy of tying the franchise record. He could do it by the end of the weekend pic.twitter.com/f7RzGZlIff
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) May 22, 2025
Wallner had five hits, including two homers, in his first two rehab games for Triple-A St. Paul, but the slugging corner outfielder isn't accompanying the Twins on the first stop of a three-city road trip that begins Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Out since April 15 with a moderate left hamstring strain, Wallner will stay with the Saints to continue his rehab through early next week. He'll likely be asked to test his hamstring further by completing back-to-back games in the outfield before being cleared to return.
But barring setbacks, it's reasonable to expect Buxton and Wallner to rejoin the Twins at some point during the road trip, which would provide a much-needed jolt to a lineup that has continued to search for consistent run production even during this season-saving, pitching-dominated 16-3 stretch.
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Uncharacteristic control problems sabotaged Zebby Matthews' first Twins start of the season — a May 18 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers that snapped the 13-game winning streak — but the 25-year-old right-hander bounced back with a solid second outing Saturday against the Royals.
Royals batters fouled off 23 of his 81 pitches, which led to Matthews being removed after four innings of two-run ball. But he struck out a career-high nine of the 18 batters he faced in two trips through the lineup, racked up a career-high 14 swing-and-misses and allowed no extra-base hits.
He also got back to pounding the zone, which has always been Matthews' specialty, issuing just one walk and throwing 70 percent strikes, including first-pitch strikes to all 18 batters. That type of control is uncommon for a pitcher whose fastball averaged 96.8 mph and topped out at 98.4 mph.
'I liked the way he finished the outing,' Baldelli said. 'He didn't have an issue getting to two strikes. He ran into some trouble finishing at-bats, so that will be an area he can think about and focus on between starts. He has the stuff to do it. I saw a lot of positives. I would call it a step forward.'
Zebby Matthews, 2Ks in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/L2zf5A3zkU
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 24, 2025
Matthews is far from a finished product, and he'll likely need to develop ways to get quicker outs and put hitters away with two strikes. But the combination of his high-octane raw stuff and elite strike-throwing ability makes it easy to see the long-term upside.
'It can be as simple as executing a little better with two strikes,' Matthews said. 'And whether it's (pitch) sequencing or trying to get a first-pitch out, those could be big pitch-count savers. There's a lot that goes into it, so we'll continue to work on it.'
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Matthews pitched well enough to get a third start, likely against the first-place Mariners in Seattle this weekend. And with David Festa and Simeon Woods Richardson, who lost his rotation spot to Matthews, pitching well for St. Paul, more progress will be required to hang onto the job.
Triple-A slugger Carson McCusker earned last week's call-up by hitting .350 with 10 homers in 38 games for St. Paul. But it took the Wallner and Buxton injuries depleting the outfield depth for the Twins to give the 27-year-old his first chance, and it's looking like his window of opportunity will be minimal.
McCusker has received just four plate appearances over seven games with the Twins. He got only two starts and was subbed out of each in the middle innings. He wasn't in Friday's lineup against Royals left-hander Noah Cameron, a favorable matchup for the right-handed hitter.
With the caveat that circumstances could change suddenly because of an injury — or perhaps, in McCusker's case, a 450-foot homer — he seems likely to be sent down once Wallner or Buxton return. As expected, the Twins view McCusker's breakout skeptically despite their run-scoring issues.
(Photo of Byron Buxton: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)