Twins pull off a 1-0 win over Nationals behind a strong start by Zebby Matthews

No matter which direction the Twins front office moves before next Thursday’s MLB trade deadline, the team is hoping Zebby Matthews will be an important part of its rotation for the next several years.

Matthews pitched six shutout innings Friday, permitting only two baserunners and striking out seven, as he led the Twins to a 1-0 victory over the Washington Nationals in their series opener at Target Field. It was his first scoreless start in his young big-league career.

“I think that can be his normal,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “Hopefully, we can come to expect that from him because I think that’s the player and the caliber of player that he is.”

Matthews dominated without much help from his offense, the club’s first victory by a 1-0 score in a little more than two years. The Twins drew six walks in five innings against Nationals All-Star lefty MacKenzie Gore, but they produced only one hit.

The Twins fittingly scored their run in an inning with no hits. Matt Wallner drew a one-out walk in the fifth inning, advanced two bases on a pair of wild pitches and scored when Byron Buxton lined a sacrifice fly to left field.

With five games remaining ahead of the trade deadline, the Twins sit three games under .500 with a 50-53 record and four games out of a wild-card spot. After Matthews pitched, three Twins relievers drawing interest on the trade market — Danny Coulombe, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran — pitched scoreless innings with scouts from at least seven teams in attendance.

Jax stranded two runners in the eighth inning. Duran secured his 16th save of the season in six pitches.

“To be able to put together a full start where I felt like I was more or less doing what I wanted to do out there for a full six innings was something that it felt good to do, and it’s something I obviously need to continue to do,” Matthews said. “It’s something I know I can do.”

This was the version of Matthews the Twins had seen in glimpses since spring training, drawing heavy praise from teammates and coaches. On Friday, he overpowered hitters with a fastball that averaged 97.5 mph and sliders that topped 90 mph. Add in a changeup — a key pitch in his development — that produced weak contact, along with command of his cutter and curveball, and, well, that sums up the dilemma for opposing batters.

What stood out is how Matthews maintained his velocity and crisp command for all six innings against a Nationals offense that extended its scoreless streak to 20 innings.

“He carries himself really well,” said Jeffers, noting it was only Matthews’ 15th career start. “He believes in his stuff. Any time a starter is throwing 98, I think you feel good about that. Then when you can combine it with the touch that he has, the offspeed options he can go to, I think he can be a really, really good long-term big-league starter.”

Matthews, who reached only two three-ball counts, thought one of his most important at-bats came in the first inning against James Wood, one of the game’s biggest young stars. In a 3-2 count, he snapped a 98-mph fastball that clipped the bottom of the strike zone for a called third strike.

The Twins squandered early opportunities against Gore, who would be one of the top arms on the trade market if the Nationals made him available. Gore opened the second inning with consecutive walks, but Wallner flew out on a down-the-middle fastball and Brooks Lee grounded into a double play.

There were two runners stranded in the first inning, too.

BOXSCORE: Twins 1, Washington 0

MLB standings

“Gore has excellent stuff,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He misses a ton of bats. You see him on the big screen every day when they flash the league leaders during [batting practice]. You keep seeing him over and over for a reason.”