Neal: Twins postseason hopes rely on unproven arms

Walk. Ground rule double. Two-run single. Three batters in, and righthander David Festa had the Twins down 2-0 in the first inning on Monday.

If it would have been staff ace Pablo López on the mound, no one would have said a peep to him. The veteran would know what adjustments to make to keep the score close. With Festa, catcher Ryan Jeffers had to huddle with him and steer him back on track. Not only because Festa has only 11 major league appearances but because he’s one of three rookie starters trying to pitch the Twins into the postseason.

“Especially when runs happen that early, you just try to reset and try to get them to flush that as quick as possible,” Jeffers said before Tuesday’s game against the Angels.

Festa gave up two more runs before exiting the game following four innings. The 2-6 record and 5.08 ERA aren’t pretty, but Jeffers sees a future rotation stalwart.

Jeffers, pitching coach Pete Maki and manager Rocco Baldelli don’t deserve to have to break in inexperienced arms with so much on the line at this stage of the season, but this is a result of the Twins’ roster construction. When they broke from training camp, righthander Louie Varland was in the rotation and righthander Simeon Woods Richardson was at Class AAA St. Paul. Their inability to stash more experienced arms in the minors has been tested.

It’s not fair to hand three rookie starters such an enormous task. The Twins had no one else to turn to. They chose to slash payroll during the offseason, affecting free agent strategy. They traded for Anthony DeSclafani as part of a package for Jorge Polanco, but the veteran has been injured all season. They were unable to trade for a starter before the deadline.

Woods Richardson has been a lifesaver, going 5-4 with a 3.96 ERA without electric stuff. He would be my pick to start a Game 3 of a postseason series behind López and Bailey Ober. Festa, who began the season at St. Paul, was summoned in June, has a nasty slider and is changing speeds better. Righthander Zebby Matthews began the season at Class A Cedar Rapids but got on Baldelli’s radar around midseason as he earned three promotions and now has been in the majors for a month. Like Festa, he throws a mid-to-upper 90s fastball but also fills the strike zone with four different pitches.

Combined, these rookies have thrown 207 career innings. Festa and Matthews weren’t in big league camp in February, so Jeffers had to get familiar with their repertoire, their habits and figure out how to approach them.

“Sim has been unbelievable,” Jeffers said. “Festa and Zebby have had good moments. You look at all three of those guys and they are going to be very good big-league pitchers. At the beginning of the year, you weren’t expecting them to pitch a big chunk of innings.

“It’s also learning curve for us too, for me as a catcher and for Pete as pitching coach to, like, what does each guy need? What was each guy kind of take to get going? Some guys need a kick in the butt. Some guys need a hug. So I think that’s still learning curve to see what we need from them and what they need from us.”

And Varland, the pride of North St. Paul, is back from the minors to provide some length out of the bullpen.

The Twins finally have some legitimate starting pitching prospects but, in a week, they will be pitching in Cleveland in what will be their last chance to catch the Guardians for the division lead through head-to-head competition. In two weeks, they will face Baltimore at Target Field for a regular-season ending series that will determine where they land in the postseason bracket.

The future of the rotation looks promising, but the Twins have put their prospects in big spots. If they sail more than they fail, the momentum gained in their career development will be immeasurable.

“This is fantastic experience for all of them,” Baldelli said. “But these games they are pitching in right now are the most important games that some of them might ever pitch in. You don’t know what’s to come in anyone’s career.

“I’ve been very pleased with what I’ve seen from them. We just want more.”