The legend of David Festa is growing. After his first two appearances in the big leagues this season went off the rails, the Minnesota Twins rookie has rebounded nicely. Festa's latest outing against the Chicago Cubs was yet another example that the young right-hander might be rounding into form.
Festa went five innings on Monday against the Cubs and struck out a career-high nine Chicago batters. The young hurler allowed just two hits and not a single run dented the plate during Festa's five innings on the bump during the Twins' series opener at Wrigley Field.
If the Twins are hoping to punch their ticket to the MLB Postseason this year, getting these types of outings from their unheralded first-year starter will definitely help. And with their fifth straight win, Minnesota is closing the gap on the AL Central Division-leading Cleveland Guardians, who've now lost three straight.
Young Twins pitcher David Festa might be rounding into form after career-best outing vs. Cubs
Festa's first two starts were less than stellar and earned him a ticket back to the minors. The young right-hander combined to allow 12 runs on 16 hits against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Detroit Tigers earlier this season. While Festa only allowed one free pass during those two outings, the Twins' starter also saw four balls leave the yard over eight innings.
David Festa racks up a career-high nine strikeouts 🔥
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 6, 2024
MLB's No. 87 prospect (@Twins) scatters two hits and two walks across five scoreless innings. pic.twitter.com/AhhauXye8N
But Twins fans began to see the potential when Festa made an appearance in long relief against the Philadelphia Phillies late last month. The 25-year-old struck out seven of the 19 Phillies' batters he faced, and his lone run surrendered came courtesy of a home run off the bat of perennial All-Star Trea Turner.
Festa's biggest moment on Monday night came just before his exit when he buckled down with two on and two outs in the fifth inning and struck out Cubs' slugger Ian Happ with a changeup. It helped preserve the Twins' 2-0 lead at the time, and allowed Festa to escape unscathed.
Over his last three appearances, Festa is 1-1 with a 1.88 ERA, 3.17 FIP, and 22 strikeouts over 14.1 innings pitched. Another performance like that could all but solidify Festa's spot in the rotation moving forward.