A few hours before the Twins hosted the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night at Target Field, they got some good news regarding injured pitcher Zebby Matthews.
Though he’s still recovering from a shoulder strain that he suffered in June, and he’s not quite ready to be activated from the injured list, Matthews checked off a very important box pregame by throwing live batting practice.
“It was about 40 pitches,” Matthews said. “It felt really good.”
There were some ups and downs for Matthews throughout the throwing session. He admitted that his control was occasionally impacted by the adrenaline coursing through his veins while facing live batters for the first time in more than a month. All part of the process.
“It’s always tough,” Matthews said. “You try to recreate the bullpen to make it as much like a simulated game as possible. Once the hitter gets in the box, it’s always a little bit different. Just trying to feel good out there and then throw stuff in zone.
Maybe the most interesting part of Matthews throwing live batting practice was the fact that he pitched to injured rookie infielder Luke Keaschall, who suffered a forearm fracture in April after being hit by a pitch.
“To see him in the box was fun,” Matthews said. “It’s always fun throwing to him.”
Not surprisingly, manager Rocco Baldelli wouldn’t put a timeline on when either Matthews or Keaschall would return to the lineup, only saying that he was excited to see them back in action.
“They looked good,” Baldelli said. “I’ll kind of leave it at that.”
The next logical step for Matthews, in particular, would be a rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints.
“I would think so,” Matthews said. “We will talk about it over the next couple of days.”
As soon as Matthews is ready to return to the rotation, the Twins will be happy to have him. They are currently without ace pitcher Pablo Lopez, who is on the injured list with a shoulder strain, and fellow pitcher Bailey Ober, who is on the injured list with a hip impingement.
Not that Matthews is getting too far ahead of himself. He knows better than to do that.
“You have to be patient,” Matthews said. “You can’t rush anything.”
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