Simeon

Woods Richardson

The Twins recalled Jair Camargo as catching depth with Christian Vazquez away from the team Thursday as he deals with a personal matter. Woods Richardson was sent down to make room on the active roster.

The Twins are in essentially must-win mode right now, so when Woods Richardson gave up three runs in the first and got into trouble in the second, they didn’t hesitate to replace the 23-year-old with Luis Varland. Woods Richardson gave up all three on a blast from Jake Burger, and it saw his ERA rise to 4.17. He’ll likely be available out of the bullpen for these next four games, with a chance to pitch in the postseason if things go right for Minnesota over the weekend.

Woods Richardson bounced back to get two outs after a leadoff walk in the fifth, but the Twins still pulled him for lefty Cole Irvin with Kyle Manzardo, who was 2-for-2 with a homer, coming up. It sort of worked; Manzardo got an infield single, but Irvin was able to retire José Ramírez to end the threat. Irvin, though, did go on to allow the tying run in the sixth. This makes five straight starts in which Woods Richardson has been pulled before completing five innings. Still, he does get the Marlins in his final outing, making him a viable option in mixed leagues.

Woods Richardson gave up five hits, walked three and struck out three. He has two wins, a 5.85 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 40 innings over his last nine starts. Woods Richardson recorded an out past the fifth inning once in his last nine starts. He’s off the fantasy radar. Woods Richardson is 5-5 with a 4.08 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 109 strikeouts in 128 innings on the year. The 23-year-old right-hander is set to face the Guardians on the road next week.

Poor command hurt Woods-Richardson’s day. He threw just 40% of his pitches in the strike zone and stayed near the heart of the zone whenever he did actually throw a strike. He was effectively wild through four innings, but the Royals finally broke through with two runs in the fifth inning which ended Woods-Richardson’s afternoon. It’s now been eight times in nine starts where he hasn’t pitched past the fifth inning. Woods-Richardson is scheduled to face the Reds at home next time out.

Woods Richardson gave up a trio of early runs courtesy of a two-run single by Dylan Carlson and a run-scoring - from Junior Caminero before running into a fourth-inning jam that led Twins manager Rocco Baldelli to turn things over to his bullpen. He finished with two strikeouts and also issued a pair of walks. He was lifted after just 71 pitches (47 strikes) in his second-shortest outing of the season. He’ll bring a respectable 3.95 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 104/40 K/BB ratio across 120 2/3 innings (24 starts) into a road tilt on Saturday against the division-rival Royals.

The 23-year-old ran into trouble in the second inning, allowing a double to Matt Olson and then a home run to Michael Harris II; however, he rebounded and didn’t allow a hit over the next two innings before fading in the fifth inning. Woods Richardson’s command left him in that inning, allowing a single and two walks and leaving the game with the bases loaded before reliever Jorge Alcala allowed a single that scored both runs. Despite the uneven performance, Woods Richardson is a strong start next week in a two-start week against the Rays and Royals.

The lone run came on a homer from Donovan Solano, who had just entered as a pinch-hitter for Jurickson Profar in a 10-0 game. Woods Richardson has won back-to-back starts after going just 3-3 in his first 20 turns. He’s allowed three runs or fewer in all but three of his outings. Woods Richardson will face Atlanta next time out. We’re pretty excited about that one, since, barring any rotation changes, he’ll be facing off against fellow very-long-name guy Spencer Schwellenbach.

Woods Richardson struck out just one and walked two. He gave up 10 hard-hit balls but only three hits. Marcus Semien homered for one of the runs, but an Adolis García fly that would have been a two-run homer in 20 ballparks, according to Statcast, turned into an out tonight. We’re not excited about Woods Richardson as a fantasy option, but it’s impressive the way he’s managed to keep it together even when he’s not at his best. He’s allowed more than three runs in just three of 21 starts, and the Twins are 14-7 when he pitches.

Woods Richardson allowed just four hits, but two were solo homers from Steven Kwan and Bo Naylor. He struck out seven and walked none. Woods Richardson’s success is even more important to the Twins now with Joe Ryan down. He’s likely to finish the year in the rotation, and he could start postseason games.