Simeon Woods Richardson's last start didn't exactly go that great.
He was chased by a very bad Chicago White Sox team before he could complete four innings of work, failed to continue his hot strikeout streak, and looked more like the guy from a few years ago rather than who the Twins saw earlier this season.
That was a distant memory on Monday night.
It was a night-and-day difference for Woods Richardson, who tapped into something special and fully redeemed himself against the Seattle Mariners. Not only did he bounce back from that less than ideal start against Chicago but he turned in the type of performance that continues to prove he’s going to be an important part of the rotation moving forward.
He gave both Twins fans, and himself, exactly the start he needed.
Simeon Woods Richardson proves he belongs in Twins rotation after dominating start against Mariners
Context is everything with Woods Richardson, as it's still hard to overstate just how cathartic his current stretch of starts has been. He had made two apeparances for the Twins prior to this season, both of which left a lot to be desired.
Even his starts in St. Paul this year were rough, all of which begged the quesiton of whether or not he was long for the orginzation. He was part of the Jose Berrios trade back in 2021, and it was reaching a point where claiming Austin Martin as the key piece of the deal seemed like the way to go.
Instead, Woods Richardson is proving that not only was he as important in that deal but he belongs in the Twins rotation.
He continued to blossom on Monday night, pitching six innings and striking out eight hitters while allowing zero runs. By the time he walked out for the fourth inning he had already set a new career-high in strikeouts. He didn’t end up getting the win after a game-tying run was scored by Seattle after Griffin Jax had entered the game, but
Simeon Woods Richardson posts a nearly perfect line in his fourth start of the season for the @Twins:
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 7, 2024
6 IP
1 H
0 R
1 BB
8 K pic.twitter.com/gwyTNxEAS1
That's the dominating performance that Woods Richardson needed not only to wash the bad taste of his start against Chicago out, but to remain on the upward trajectory that started last month in Detroit.
He was called up to pitch the second game of a doubelheader against the Tigers and it ended up being that the third time was the charm for Woods Richardson. That one bad start against the White Sox aside, he's notched 19 strikeouts and has allowed just three runs on 10 hits.
Even with the rough start in Chicago, Woods Richardson has a 1.74 ERA.
There's still plenty of season left, but there seems to be enough of a sample size with Woods Richardson to believe he's secured his place in the Twins rotation and figures to be a big part of the plan moving forward.