Neal: Twins rotation has been stabilized thanks to unlikely arms

If a manager has to hook a pitcher in the fifth inning, it usually means that pitcher has loused something up.

And there was Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli on Sunday at Target Field, removing righthander Simeon Woods Richardson with two on and two out in the fifth. It was the fifth time in his last six outings that Woods Richardson hadn’t thrown a pitch in the sixth inning of a start.

But did Baldelli’s postgame comments about Richardson reflect any disappointment?

It was the exact opposite.

“I went and found Simeon in the video room after the game ended, just to tell him again, what a nice job he’s been doing,” Baldelli said. “He’s competed really well. I think he’s finding some new ways to use his stuff. I think he is doing his best and understands why, for him, working ahead of hitters is so important.”

Let’s expand this to include righthander David Festa, who, unlike Woods Richardson, has been allowed to pitch into the sixth a couple of times.

“Those guys have stepped up in ways that we’ve needed them to, and they’ve helped us immensely,” Baldelli said. “And this run of games where we played really good baseball, it comes down to the starting pitcher going out there and giving you a chance to win the game, period.

“And those guys ... they have kind of flipped the switch and given us chances every time to win.”

The Twins pitching staff was expected to be the strength of the team. But the first three-plus months have been tumultuous. Injuries and ineffectiveness led to an MLB-worst 6.07 ERA in June. Consequently, the Twins were 9-18 that month and were slipping out of postseason relevance.

The two righthanders have dealt with turbulence as well. Woods Richardson spent nearly a month at Class AAA St. Paul when he lost control of the strike zone. Festa, called up each time staff ace Pablo López landed on the injured list, missed 17 days because of shoulder inflammation while with St. Paul.

While we have been mesmerized by Byron Buxton’s All-Star-level brilliance of late, the pitching staff has a 3.11 ERA in July, fourth best in the majors. This is with López, mid-rotation stabilizer Bailey Ober and key reinforcement Zebby Matthews on the injured list.

Woods Richardson and Festa have dealt with their own adversity to become the switch-flippers, stabilizing the rotation with effective outings. They have a hand in the Twins entering the All-Star break having won their last three series.

Woods Richardson’s turnaround began with five scoreless innings June 15 in his hometown of Houston during a 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Astros. He has a 1.47 ERA over his last six starts, giving up just two home runs during that timeframe.

The manager had tethered him to a five-inning leash during that span but was willing to let Woods Richardson pitch longer Sunday under different circumstances. But ol’ Rocco had a full bullpen at his disposal with the break coming this week.

And offense might be why Woods Richardson has been unable to pitch deeper into games. Three of his last six outings were 2-1 games.

He credited part of his strike-throwing surge to being able to reset when he visited his hometown last month. So now it’s up to the Twins to work with the scheduling committee to play Houston once a month?

“If that’s what it takes,” Woods Ricardson joked.

After giving up eight runs to Milwaukee on June 22, Festa has sliced more than a run off his ERA, which sits at 5.25. Like Woods Richardson, Festa recently has enjoyed the benefits of staying in the strike zone and getting ahead of hitters.

Festa shut out American League Central-leading Detroit over 5 ⅔ innings June 27 in a 4-1 Twins victory. Last Wednesday, he held the Chicago Cubs to two runs over 5 ⅓ innings in a game that was remembered more for Buxton being hit in the hand by a pitch than the Twins winning 4-2.

Two wins over two of the best offenses in the majors is nothing to take lightly.

The Twins have work to do coming out of the All-Star break, but they have not played themselves out of a wild-card spot. Woods Richardson and Festa have emerged when the rotation looked ready to fall apart.

“They’re getting head ahead of more hitters,” Baldelli said. “They’re executing well with two strikes. They’re doing a lot of very positive things right now. So, a lot of the baseball we’re playing right now comes down to those guys and the starters doing a good job.”

Now they must carry the momentum through the next few weeks while López, Ober and Matthews recover.