Varland the latest of Twins' arms to evolve 'before our eyes'

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins’ most recent homestand started with news that Joe Ryan would likely miss at least the rest of the regular season. With Chris Paddack already on the shelf, it was time to find out what Minnesota had in a trio of young right-handers who could be charitably described as unproven.

Six days later, the Twins have to be happy with what they’ve seen. On Wednesday, Louie Varland posted his first quality start of the season, allowing three runs over six innings even though the Royals pulled out a 4-1 victory to avoid being swept at Target Field.

“Varland threw the ball good. We had every opportunity to stay in this game,” Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He pitched well. His stuff was very good today.”

After scoring 21 runs in the first two games of the series, the Twins were held to just a Carlos Santana solo home run off Royals starter Cole Ragans, who allowed five hits and walked no one while striking out eight in seven innings.

“The feel of the game always changes based on the score. If we were able to swing the bats the way we were the last couple of days, we’re probably sitting here really singing his praises,” Baldelli said. “Ultimately, we didn’t do that the same way as we did [Tuesday].”

Varland was stung by two solo home runs, including one off a chin-high fastball that Bobby Witt Jr. managed to turn on. It’s an area Varland needs to clean up -- his first start of the homestand, against Cleveland, was marred by a Josh Naylor three-run homer. But given his showing against two division rivals, Varland felt good about his outings.

“It was two great big games, and I thought I did well enough to keep the team in the game, so I’ll build off that,” he said.

For the Twins to have a successful stretch run, they’re going to need more of what they’ve seen from Varland, David Festa and Zebby Matthews. Varland opened the season in the Major League rotation, but he was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on April 22 after allowing 17 runs in 16 innings over his first four starts. Varland did better in two June outings (two runs in 9 1/3 innings), and his latest outings are also cause for optimism.

Like Varland, Festa had a shaky start to his season. In his first two Major League starts, he got knocked around to the tune of 12 earned runs in 10 innings. But since Festa was recalled on July 24, he has gone 1-1 with a 2.04 ERA in four starts. And while he’s walked eight batters in 17 2/3 innings, he’s also struck out 25.

Meanwhile, Matthews won his Major League debut on Tuesday with five innings of two-run ball. He might be the biggest wild card of the three, given his meteoric rise through three levels of the Minor Leagues in just the past four months. But Baldelli isn’t surprised by the success of any of the three.

“I don’t like to think of it as like, ‘Oh wow! I’m shocked! It’s shocking that these young guys are doing good.’ That is like the furthest thing from my mind,” he said. “What I’m thinking is they’re … really good at their jobs, they happen to be young, and they’re gonna keep going out there and getting Major League hitters out because they have better stuff than most of the pitchers in the league.

“They have to prove that consistency, and they have to probably prove a lot not just to the team but to themselves, because they are young. But they have all the ability in the world. And they can get it done, and we’re going to keep pitching them.”

Varland expressed a similar amount of optimism in his young rotationmates.

“I can tell you that we’re ready,” Varland said. “I’ve seen enough of Zebby and Festa; they’re complete dawgs. They’re very good pitchers, and they’re going to step up to the challenge -- them, and me as well. It’s gonna be fun.”

Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods-Richardson and Pablo López will start three of the four games in the upcoming series at Texas. Festa is slated to start on Saturday. Baldelli wouldn’t reveal whether he was leaning toward Matthews or Varland for Monday’s game at San Diego. Whoever it is, the pitcher will have his manager’s full confidence.

“We’re watching it happen before our eyes,” Baldelli said. “This is what it looks like when you develop good players, good young players, and you put them out there. These are meaningful games. We’re playing against good teams, and they’re playing well.”