MINNEAPOLIS — Called up from Triple-A St. Paul and inserted into the Minnesota Twins’ rotation Friday to give the other starters an extra day of rest, David Festa allowed just one unearned run over 4 2/3 innings against the Detroit Tigers.
Unfortunately, the Twins’ bullpen yielded six runs in 4 1/3 innings following Festa’s exit after 64 pitches, leading to a 7-6 loss that dropped them to 4-10, which is tied for the second-worst record through 14 games in team history.
Right fielder Matt Wallner’s throwing error with two outs in the fifth inning enabled the Tigers’ lone run off Festa, who struck out four, walked one and gave up just three hits, all singles. His fastball averaged 95.2 mph, topping out at 96.7 mph, and Festa got seven whiffs on 16 swings against his slider and changeup. And he mixed in some of his newest pitch, a sinker.
“He threw the ball well,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “His stuff was good. He had a good fastball. He threw some really good changeups and sliders. Overall, it was a very solid outing from him. He did his job. He did exactly what we were hoping he would do. And in his last inning, the fifth, he ended up having to work a little bit, with stuff going on around him.”
David Festa’s 2Ks in the 4th. pic.twitter.com/zVqYcCgTtZ
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 12, 2025
It was a glimpse into the future of the Twins’ rotation, where the 25-year-old Festa profiles as a potential core player. And the Twins might get another look at the future Monday when 24-year-old Zebby Matthews is expected to be called up from St. Paul to start in place of the injured Pablo López.
López was put on the injured list Friday with a mild right hamstring strain and will miss a minimum of 15 days, possibly giving Matthews a chance to impress in multiple starts. In the meantime, however, Festa was given first crack at returning to the majors and left a good impression.
“I’d like to think I’m a little better (than last season),” Festa said. “I’ve been doing a lot of mechanical work. And then (adding) the sinker has helped me a lot in the few starts I’ve made so far this year. I think it’ll help me with the second and third time through the batting order. I’d like to think I’m always improving. At least that’s the goal. Hopefully, this is a stepping stone.”
Festa also pitched well down the stretch for the Twins as a rookie last season, posting a 3.81 ERA and 69 strikeouts over his final 54 1/3 innings. He began this season alongside Matthews in St. Paul’s rotation due to the presence of Chris Paddack and Simeon Woods Richardson as the Twins’ fourth and fifth starters behind López, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober.
Paddack missed the second half of last year with a forearm strain and has a 14.73 ERA through two starts this season, which helped convince the Twins that an extra day off might do him some good before taking the mound again Saturday versus Detroit. Woods Richardson, who logged a career-high 107 pitches in his last start, is slated to pitch Sunday against the Tigers.
Rotation depth projected as a strength for the Twins this year, with Festa, Matthews and Andrew Morris giving them three MLB-ready top prospects on standby in St. Paul, waiting for an injury (like López’s) or struggles (like Paddack’s) to open the window a crack.
Before Festa’s outing Friday, the Twins’ rotation ranked 26th in MLB with a 5.12 ERA, but the front office is likely to show patience with Paddack after choosing not to shed his $7.5 million salary via trade this offseason. Woods Richardson could also face pressure for his spot, but the 24-year-old is part of the Twins’ future, unlike the impending free agent Paddack.
For the Twins to climb out of the early hole they’ve dug for themselves and remain in the playoff picture, they will need the rotation to do some heavy lifting, especially if the lineup continues to struggle. When healthy, López, Ryan and Ober are a strong front three, but the Twins need to be right — and right quickly — about the best fits for the final two spots.
Running, relatively
Seven stolen bases in 14 games aren’t a big deal, ranking tied for 24th out of 30 teams, but it’s sort of a big deal for the Twins. Seven steals are the most they’ve had through 14 games since 2018, the year before Baldelli took over as manager. And in the previous six seasons under Baldelli, the Twins had just 4, 1, 4, 6, 2 and 3 steals in their first 14 games — an average of 3.3
“I’d love to be aggressive on the bases, on a regular basis, on a daily basis,” Baldelli said. “We have some guys that can take advantage of a situation, and of a base-stealing opportunity, and not wait around and think about it too long. Just go. We want to go. Just be aggressive. To me, that’s just good, aggressive baseball. That’s the kind of baseball you want to play.”
However, in the same breath, Baldelli noted “it’s always going to be player dependent.” In other words, having slow players try to steal bases is generally a mistake, and the Twins’ rosters have rarely given Baldelli much speed with which to work. Last year’s team was MLB’s slowest, and Harrison Bader is the only base-stealing threat the Twins added this offseason.
Bader has yet to attempt a steal, but he’ll get plenty of green lights from the manager. Willi Castro remains the Twins’ biggest base-stealing threat after leading the team with 14 last season and 33 in 2023. And they can now bring some speed off the bench with backup outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who had one of the Twins’ two steals Friday.
But it’s the health of Byron Buxton’s legs that could have the biggest impact on the Twins’ stolen base total. Buxton is 18 months removed from his latest knee surgery and feeling as healthy as he has in a long time, posting MLB’s fourth-highest average sprint speed this season and stealing his third base Friday, in addition to hitting his second homer.
Most games with a home run and a stolen base in Twins history:
19 — Torii Hunter
15 — Larry Hisle
15 — Gary Gaetti
12 — Kirby Puckett
11 — Byron Buxton— Aaron Gleeman (@aarongleeman.bsky.social) April 11, 2025 at 9:48 PM
“It’s good to be healthy,” Buxton said. “When you’re healthy, it gives you that peace of mind to just go out there and play the game you want to play. And have fun doing it. To be able to have that back in the arsenal is fun. It puts a little more pressure on the defense. But it also allows the pitcher on the other side to make a mistake. That’s my job, to cause a little chaos.”
Austin Martin injured, Brooks Lee rehabbing
Triple-A outfielder/second baseman Austin Martin was placed on St. Paul’s seven-day injured list Friday with a right hamstring strain suffered while chasing after a fly ball Thursday night.
Martin was off to a hot start after failing to make the big-league team out of spring training, batting .419 with a .526 on-base percentage in eight games, but he won’t be an option for the Twins’ struggling lineup for a while.
Austin Martin is off to a strong start and had a three-hit game tonight before this happened in center field. ☹️
[image or embed]
— TFTwins (@tftwins.bsky.social) April 10, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Brooks Lee, meanwhile, could be nearing his return from a spring training back injury, playing his fourth rehab game Friday. Lee started at shortstop for the Saints and went 1-for-3 with a single and a walk.
Once he’s healthy, the Twins could option Lee to St. Paul rather than add him to the major-league roster. However, he was seemingly in line to be on the Opening Day roster before the injury, and third base hasn’t been productive thus far, with Jose Miranda (nine starts) and Castro (five starts) combining to bat .154 while committing four errors.
(Photo of David Festa: David Berding / Getty Images)