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Final
Twins 5, Mariners 3
Starting pitcher performance
SEATTLE — Zebby Matthews’ first inning featured a pair of walks that came on eight total pitches and a pair of doubles, plunging the Twins (56-55) quickly into a two-run deficit.
The big hit in the inning, a double off the bat of Mariners (53-58) catcher Cal Raleigh, came with a pair of outs in the inning after Matthews had gotten two quick strikes on him. Raleigh fouled off four pitches before capping off his at-bat with the hit.
Matthews then gave up a home run an inning later to put the Mariners on top after the Twins had rallied back to tie up the game with a Brooks Lee two-run shot. But from that point on, he was nearly untouchable.
“It was pretty similar to last year here where I gave up the four spot in the first. I was able to kind of settle in,” Matthews said. “Something about the first inning here, I guess. Was able to kind of make some adjustments and keep pitching.”
Matthews retired 10 of the final 12 hitters he faced, giving up just one hit after the home run, a single to Julio Rodriguez in the sixth inning. That ended his start earlier than he would have liked because his pitch count had gotten hiked up early.
He finished his day with a career-high 10 strikeouts.
“Going 30 some pitches in the first inning, it’s going to be hard to get through six,” Matthews said. “But great team win.”
After him, the Twins got four hitless, scoreless innings from their bullpen, with Kody Funderburk throwing 1 1/3 innings, Tommy Nance getting a pair of outs and Andrew Morris and Yoendrys Gómez each tossing a scoreless frame. Morris needed just three pitches to retire the Mariners’ 2-3-4 hitters and Gómez worked around a pair of walks to finish off the win, the team’s fifth in their last six games.
Key moment
The Twins went nearly an entire homestand — six games — without a home run before Kody Clemens’ ultimate grand slam sent them to one of their most exciting wins of the season on Thursday.
They hit three on Friday, starting with Lee’s in the second inning to tie the game up at 2-2. In the seventh, Royce Lewis hit another game-tying home run, this one knotting the game 3-3. And an inning later, Ryan Jeffers hit a blast to give the Twins some breathing room.
But it was Luke Keaschall’s RBI double that put the Twins up for good, driving in Alan Roden in the seventh inning to put the Twins ahead for the first time all night. Their efforts helped lift the Twins above .500 for the first time since April. It also pulled them into a tie with the Cleveland Guardians for the third wild card berth.
“It’s been electric,” Lewis said. “We’ve been having a lot of fun. The clubhouse vibes and obviously the never-give-up mentality.”
Up next
The Twins will send Connor Prielipp (3-4, 4.73 ERA) to the mound on Saturday in the second game of the series at T-Mobile Park. He will square off against Logan Gilbert (8-6, 3.44 ERA).
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