Injured Twins starting pitcher Zebby Matthews threw live batting practice Tuesday, on the road back from a right shoulder strain that put him on the injured list retroactive to June 5. He missed his 30th game Tuesday.
He said he threw about 40 pitches in two sessions with a break between.
“It went good, felt really good,” Matthews said. “I felt normal out there. Obviously didn’t quite execute like we needed to. First time with hitters. A little excited, but it was good.”
Matthews threw against injured teammate Luke Keaschall, who urged the hard-throwing Matthews to pitch him inside.
“Zebby gave us exactly what we wanted,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “His stuff looked good. He was throwing two-ups. He got through it, went well. We’ll kind of reassess everything inside, see what the next step is. Luke, offensively the way he was swinging it, looked normal. That’s what you want. He put good swings on the ball.”
Matthews said the next step on the road back is a discussion with manager and coaches.
“I think we’ll sit down and talk, probably today,” Matthews said. “Kind of had to check this off today. Figure out the next steps and go from there.”
Steadiness is appreciated
Twins pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson started his 13th game of the season Tuesday against the Cubs, going five scoreless innings before turning it over to relievers in the Twins’ 8-1 victory.
