Matthews (hip discomfort) exits early, calls move 'precautionary'

TAMPA -- Right-hander Zebby Matthews was removed from Thursday¡¯s 8-4 win over the Yankees due to hip discomfort. Matthews slipped on a ground ball by Paul Goldschmidt and was removed before throwing another pitch.

¡°Leg slipped a little bit, just kind of aggravated,¡± Matthews said. ¡°Just precautionary. Definitely could have kept pitching.¡±

Matthews¡¯ status for the coming days is unclear, though he¡¯ll likely be sidelined for at least a bit. But it seems to be good news that there was no arm issue. The overall tone in the clubhouse postgame was not one of excessive worry regarding the righty.

¡°Obviously he went hard after that ball, made a nice play,¡± manager Rocco Baldelli said. ¡°I thought I saw his foot slip, I think a couple of the guys saw it even more from whatever angle they had, a little more pronounced than I saw it. But I think that¡¯s when he felt it. We¡¯ll evaluate him tomorrow.¡±

Before the injury, Matthews pitched 1 1/3 innings, throwing 13 pitches. He worked around two baserunners to escape a third-inning jam.

Matthews, 24, sped up the Twins¡¯ organizational ladder last year, starting with High-A Cedar Rapids and advancing all the way to the Majors when injuries hit Minnesota's starting rotation. He made nine starts, going 1-4 with a 6.69 ERA, and came into camp as a contender for a spot in the 2025 rotation.

The right-hander has thrown well this spring, not allowing a run or a walk in 6 1/3 innings spanning three appearances.