Twins calling up David Festa to start Friday against Tigers, Zebby Matthews could follow Monday

KANSAS CITY, MO. – The Twins, in the middle of a stretch where they’re scheduled to play 12 days in a row without an off day, are headed toward a temporary six-man rotation.

David Festa will start in Friday’s series opener against the Detroit Tigers, manager Rocco Baldelli confirmed. Chris Paddack and Simeon Woods Richardson were pushed back one day, and Festa already was scheduled to start at Class AAA St. Paul on Friday.

The Twins still need to fill Pablo López’s spot in the rotation once he is placed on the 15-day injured list with a grade 1 right hamstring strain, and Zebby Matthews appears lined up to pitch for the Twins on Monday.

“We have a lot of games in a row right now,” Baldelli said. “It’s something we do a couple of times a year. Normally, I think it helps our starters out. Sim went [a career-high] 107 pitches last time out. This decision was made even before the Pablo injury happened. It’s a forward-looking, get-ahead-of-things move for our starting pitchers.”

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Festa, 25, struggled in his first two big-league starts last year. After he returned from a brief demotion to the minor leagues, he compiled a 3.81 ERA over his final 54⅓ innings with 69 strikeouts and 22 walks. He’s made two starts at St. Paul this year, yielding 13 hits and five earned runs in 8⅓ innings (5.40 ERA) with eight strikeouts and two walks.

Matthews posted a 6.69 ERA in nine big-league starts last season, but he turned heads this spring with an additional uptick in velocity. In two outings for the Saints this season, he’s permitted five hits and two runs in 10 innings with 13 strikeouts and one walk while reaching 99 mph with his fastball.

López prides himself on preparing his body for a full season’s workload, making all 32 starts in each of the last three seasons.

Was there anything he could have done differently to avoid his hamstring strain?

“I went through all numbers and data with our strength and conditioning department,” López said. “We do all kinds of tests the day after a start, like, how high we jump, how much force we’re creating. We use force plates that let us know which leg we are favoring. We went through all those numbers, and I can’t find anything would indicate this. I think it’s one of those things, if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen.”

López noted he stretches between innings, and he was well-hydrated when he pitched Tuesday.

“Obviously, a part of me is bummed out and a little disappointed that it happened because it makes me feel — this is just me overthinking and overanalyzing — that I didn’t do enough, but I’ve actually done plenty. It probably just happened.”

The Twins provide biomechanical reports to pitchers after each of their outings. They’re used to indicate any trends with their pitching mechanics throughout the season.

“It’s feedback, but it’s objective feedback,” Baldelli said. “It’s something that helps us sometimes. It’s not insignificant, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle.”

Brooks Lee, on a rehab assignment at Class AAA, played seven innings at second base Tuesday and seven innings at third base Wednesday as he builds up from a back spasm that sidelined him near the end of spring training.

Lee, who has two hits in seven at-bats for the Saints, hasn’t reached the point where he is cleared to return to the big leagues.

“He’s under the purview of the training staff right now,” Baldelli said. “Until I hear anything differently, I normally just let those guys lead the way. We talk about what the schedule’s going to look like, at-bats and innings and positions that he’s going to play and things like that. It has not moved past the medical part of it yet. He’s still right in the middle of it.”