Twins 9, Marlins 1: Zoned-in Zebby zeros zombie (z)Miami

TL;DR

The Minnesota Twins defeated the Miami Marlins 9-1, with Zebby Matthews pitching seven shutout innings. The Twins' offense was led by Austin Martin and James Outman, contributing to a strong win.

Key points

Twins won 9-1 against the Marlins
Zebby Matthews pitched seven shutout innings
Austin Martin and James Outman led the offense
Twins are 20-24, 3.5 games out of the division
Team has young prospects returning soon

Minnesota TwinsMiami Marlins

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - MAY 14: Zebby Matthews #52 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the second inning at Target Field on May 14, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Matt Krohn/Getty Images) | Getty Images Another Thursday of Blog Lord game coverage, another coveted reverse jinx. I fixed Kody Clemens a couple weeks ago, and now hopefully the same can be said for Zebby Matthews after he delivered the best start of his career. This Miami lineup is sneakily talented, but you wouldn’t know it if you only watched this series opener (Ober 89 pitch Maddux) and closer. Matthews cruised through the seven innings, allowing just four hits and one walk while racking up five strikeouts and nine roundball outs. For a guy with home run issues like Zebby, that last number is particularly encouraging. The only real threat the Marlins put together came in the very first inning. Back-to-back singles from Liam Hicks and Otto Lopez put two runners on for the middle of the lineup, but Matthews quickly retired the next two batters to escape the jam. From there, everything was on cruise control. Following the two first inning singles, Zebby retired 19 of 22 batters he faced and not a single one reached second base. All said and done: seven shutout innings on just 83 pitches. That’s how you save the bullpen after last night’s SWR disaster-class. On the offensive side, things got off to an inauspicious start for the hometown nine. The first three Twins batters reached base to load ‘em up with no outs, but lefty struck out , , and for a good old fashioned Twins NOBLETIGER. The first three batters reached AGAIN to start the second, but made sure not to waste it this time. A ground rule double broke the seal and plated the first two Twins run of the afternoon. Bell and Caratini each redeemed themselves in the inning as well, with a Bell double scoring two more and a well-placed groundout allowing ’s fifth run of the inning to come in. 5-0 Twins after two. A RBI single scored one more for the good guys in the third, but things went very quiet for the bats until the eighth inning after Miami finally scratched one across home. After 13 straight Twins outs, Luke Keaschall hit a one-out single. A two out walk brought up Outman, who again delivered an RBI hit, this time a double that scored Keaschall and . Austin Martin followed with his second hit of the day for good measure to make it 9-1. Game, series, match. We’ll see you tomorrow night for the border battle with the . Thanks to the relative mid-ness of the entire American League outside of Tampa and New York, the Twins (at 20-24) sit just 3.5 games out of the division and 1.5 games out of a wild card spot a quarter of the way to the season. The competition is talented and won’t stay down forever, but the bullpen has been significantly better in recent weeks with some young additions and the Twins are right in the thick of things. Better yet, the team should start looking even better over the next few weeks as , , , and start to work their ways back. Plus, they have 4-5 top 100 prospects on the doorstep that still should contribute at some point this season. Don’t count this group out quite yet! **STUDS**

Q&A

What were Zebby Matthews' stats in the game against the Marlins?

Zebby Matthews pitched seven innings, allowing no runs on four hits, with one walk and five strikeouts.

How did the Twins perform offensively against the Marlins?

The Twins scored nine runs, with notable contributions from Austin Martin and James Outman, who each had multiple RBIs.

What is the current standing of the Minnesota Twins in the AL?

The Twins are currently 20-24, sitting 3.5 games out of the division lead and 1.5 games out of a wild card spot.

Who were the standout players in the Twins' win over the Marlins?

Standout players included Zebby Matthews, Austin Martin, and James Outman, all contributing significantly to the victory.