Twins’ Manuel Margot extends his pinch-hit futility to 0-for-29 this season

CLEVELAND – Manuel Margot made baseball history in the most painful way possible Tuesday night. As Cleveland Guardians lefthanded reliever Tim Herrin entered the game in the seventh inning, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli sent Margot up to the plate to pinch-hit for Matt Wallner, who in his two previous at-bats had singled twice to drive in the Twins’ only runs.

After getting behind 0-2, Margot hit a hard grounder to second baseman Andrés Giménez, who started an easy inning-ending double play. And with that, Margot became the first player in major league history to go 0-for-29 as a pinch-hitter in a season.

Jonny Gomes, who went 0-for-28 with Cincinnati and Washington in 2012, held the previous record for worst pinch-hit 0-fer — and might still again, given that Margot still has 10 games left to collect a hit — followed by Jim Holt, whose 0-for-27 with the Twins and Oakland in 1974 stood for 38 years. Gomes and Margot, who has walked five times as a pinch-hitter, are tied with 34 hitless plate appearances.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said there have been occasions when, mindful of the statistics, he’s bypassed Margot. “It’s hard to look at that stat and completely disregard it,” Baldelli conceded.

Margot’s futility is odd, given that 19 of those pinch-hit at-bats (plus five walks) have come against lefthanded pitching and he’s batting .320 against lefties when not hitting for a teammate. And his 15.1% strikeout rate is lower than every hitter currently on the Twins’ roster, save Jose Miranda.

That latter point is why Baldelli still calls upon Margot — and might still again.

“There still might be times this year where he could pinch-hit in certain situations. His bat-to-ball ability should lead to positive things happening for us,” Baldelli said. “Being able to take advantage of that is something we have to keep in mind.”

Zebby Matthews’ start against the Guardians on Tuesday might be the most encouraging one he has turned in yet, and not just because he allowed only one run in 4⅔ innings.

Matthews has quietly been pitching with a small blister just under the edge of his right middle fingernail, a sometimes-painful blemish that has kept him from maintaining the command of his pitches that he displayed early this season. The blister first erupted in June, while he was pitching for Class AA Wichita, and while he’s proud that he hasn’t missed a start because of it, the constant work has also prevented it from healing.

Until now, perhaps.

“It’s definitely feeling better, finally. It’s been awhile,” the 24-year-old rookie said. “The stuff is coming out a little better because of that. We’re trending in the right direction. The trainers are doing a great job with it.”

Ronny Henriquez picked pinch-runner Myles Straw — the Cleveland outfielder making his 2024 debut — off first base in the seventh inning, “a huge, game-changing play,” according to Baldelli. It was Henriquez’s second successful pickoff in his last three appearances, after nabbing the Los Angeles Angels’ Taylor Ward a week ago.

“That is something I have been working on lately, more than before, because lot of teams have pretty good runners right now,” said Henriquez, whose two pickoffs make him the Twins’ leader on the season.

“He’s got a good move. He’s a shorter guy, so he has smaller, tighter moves he can make,” said coach Hank Conger, whose responsibilities include deciding when to try a pickoff. “Everything from him is really twitchy, and that’s usually a good component to having a good pickoff move.”

— Trevor Larnach has been limited to a designated hitter role by a tight hamstring for a week now, Baldelli said, but “I am realistically hopeful that he’ll be able to go play the outfield at some point” before the season ends, the manager said. “He’s already moving better than he was moving four days ago.”

— The Indianapolis Indians trounced the St. Paul Saints 10-2 at CHS Field. Austin Martin, optioned to the Saints from the Twins last week, led the Saints with three hits and a run scored.