Twins pull away from Athletics for third straight win

WEST SACRAMENTO The Twins rotation has been among the best in the majors this season but it s about to be tested in a major way Ace Pablo L pez was diagnosed with a Grade teres major strain on Wednesday an injury which will keep him out for two to three months and test the Twins starting pitching depth That means the Twins are going to need the young arms in their rotation to step up and on Wednesday Zebby Matthews turned in another solid performance in the Twins - mastery over the Athletics at Sutter Fitness Park Matthews who joined the rotation in place of Simeon Woods Richardson last month threw five innings on Wednesday giving up just one run on four hits Though he dealt with traffic all night he was able to work his way through it limiting the struggling Athletics - in their hitter-friendly minor league ballpark in his fourth start at the major-league level this season Definitely feeling better each start Matthews declared Confidence is growing Definitely want to keep that going There s still a lot of stuff to continue to work on Each outing you kind of learn more about yourself He pitched with a lead from the outset as Ryan Jeffers the club s designated hitter on Wednesday homered off opener Justin Sterner in the first inning The Twins - tacked on another two runs in the fifth inning on Harrison Bader s sixth home run of the season which extended their lead to - at the time After the A s scored their one run off Matthews in the bottom of the fifth the Twins added on late putting three more runs on the board in the final two innings of the contest We did get specific big moments and big swings RJ and Bader get us going with particular good swings but we also had guys draw a walk We had guys hit particular balls pretty good manager Rocco Baldelli disclosed We re doing it in different avenues but I m really pleased with the types of at-bats we ve had And they did it without shortstop Carlos Correa who was scratched before the event with back tightness Correa who described slipping at the plate and his back compensating to stabilize him through the motion is likely to get Thursday s series finale off It s just discomfort in my middle back and I don t want to make it worse where I miss months of the season for two games Correa declared But even without Correa the Twins had no matter taking care of the Athletics for the third straight night The Twins have outscored the Athletics who have now lost nine straight games and of their past - in the series The Athletics couldn t do much against Matthews and did even less offensively off the Twins bullpen in the final four innings of Wednesday s meeting That group Louie Varland Griffin Jax Brock Stewart and Jhoan Duran recorded of their outs via strikeout to help the Twins secure the win Each guy just totally did his job Baldelli noted Related Articles Twins lose Pablo L pez for two to three months with injury Twins beat Athletics but lose pitcher Pablo L pez to injury Twins closer Jhoan Duran s May performance honored with monthly award Joe Ryan does escape act Byron Buxton drives in five in Twins win Twins third baseman Royce Lewis remains positive as he works through slump