The right-hander struck out eight batters to propel Minnesota to a 5-4 extra-innings victory over the New York Yankees on Wednesday.
Zebby Matthews shined on Wednesday night during the Minnesota Twins' matchup against the AL juggernaut New York Yankees, tossing six scoreless innings as he struck out eight batters and only gave up two hits.
His impressive outing came after a brutal showing last week against the Detroit Tigers when he surrendered five earned runs and four walks through only 2.1 innings and was charged with the loss.
Following Wednesday's matchup, the 26-year-old right-hander expressed confidence in his effective fastball that proved to be the difference maker this time around.
"I'd say it's up there for sure [with any start this year], just based on how everything kind of felt," Matthews said, according to MLB.com. "Majority of the pitches felt really good today. I was able to keep them off balance. I thought [catcher Ryan Jeffers] did a great job mixing the pitch calls, especially with two strikes. Keeping them off balance with the slider and curveball and showing just enough fastballs to keep them honest."
Matthews got to work early, holding the Yankees to a single hit in the first inning and fooling Aaron Judge on a nasty 88-mph slider. With that, Minnesota went up 1-0 as Josh Bell drove in Luke Keaschall with a one-run single off New York starter Carlos Rodón.
Rodón battled as well, recording five punchouts on the night to keep the Twins' bats at bay until the fifth when Ryan Kreidler launched a solo homer to left field. Still, Matthews went out with a bang, limiting New York to a walk by Ben Rice in the sixth and retiring three-straight Yankees.
Even with both starters removed from the game, the pitchers’ duel raged on until the ninth when Anthony Volpe tied it with a two-run double that brought home José Caballero and George Lombard Jr. New York then took the lead in the 10th as Ali Sánchez drove in Cody Bellinger.
Keaschall responded that same inning, scoring Brooks Lee with a one-run single. The Yankees refused to back down in the 11th as a sacrifice fly by Caballero allowed Lombard Jr. to come home.
Fortunately, Royce Lewis countered with a productive out of his own to score rookie Walker Jenkins and give the Twins the momentum they needed to come out on top with a 5-4 win after Victor Caratini walked it off in the 13th with a single that brought home Keaschall.
Although reliever Tommy Nance was credited with the win, Matthews' ERA improved to 4.74 and he has also recorded a 1.24 WHIP while striking out 107 batters across 125.1 innings of action this season.
While the ship has most likely sailed for the Twins' playoff hopes, Matthews is slowly cementing himself as a future contributor with the season drawing to a close later this month.
Matthews could get his next turn in the rotation during Minnesota's three-game series next week against the San Francisco Giants.
