Story by
Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
Zebby Matthews solid but Twins fall to Astros
- Story byPioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
- Zebby Matthews solid but Twins fall to Astros
Final
Starting pitcher performance
Zebby Matthews surrendered a pair of runs on Tuesday night before he recorded an out, allowing a single to Astros leadoff hitter Jeremy Peña and a blast to left to third baseman Isaac Paredes .
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But that was it.
Matthews, who threw seven scoreless frames in his first major league start of the season last time out, would not give up another run. It was another strong outing in which Matthews did more than enough to put his team in a position to win. He allowed only three more hits.
"Obviously, not the way you're looking to start the game with the home run there, but was able to bounce back and not panic out there and just keep pitching and hold them to zeroes after that," Matthews said.
Player of the Game
Hours before Tuesday's game, the Astros announced that their scheduled starter, Lance McCullers, had been scratched and placed on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation.
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That pressed Jason Alexander into duty, and he responded with six scoreless innings. The Twins (22-27) collected just four hits off of him — Josh Bell hit a pair of singles, Byron Buxton had a softly-hit double and Brooks Lee tripled — and could not turn those baserunners into runs.
"Alexander kept us off balance between the fastball and the changeup. And it seemed like everything we hit hard, we hit right at somebody," manager Derek Shelton said. "One of those games where the balls we squared up were hit at people. Sometimes that happens, unfortunately."
Key moment
The Twins finally had an offensive breakthrough in the eighth inning, sparked by Buxton's second double of the day. He came around to score on Bell's third single, his three-hit day coming after three hits — including two home runs — the night before.
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But after Kody Clemens singled to move pinch runner Ryan Kreidler into scoring position, the Twins could not complete the comeback. Austin Martin grounded out for the third out.
An inning later, newly called up Orlando Arcia collected a two-out hit and pinch hitter Luke Keaschall was hit by a pitch, giving Buxton an opportunity with the game on the line. A wild pitch advanced both runners before the center fielder popped out in foul territory to end the game.
"We had an opportunity there, and he just got under a pitch," Shelton said.
Up next
Joe Ryan (2-3, 3.20 ERA) is set to start the series finale against the Houston Astros . He will be opposed by right-hander Mike Burrows (2-5, 5.72 ERA). The game is set for 12:40 p.m.
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