Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo López was forced to exit Tuesday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals due to a lower-body injury in the fifth inning, as reported by Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune. López walked off the mound with trainer Nick Paparesta before facing Royals batter Bobby Witt Jr. He was seen grabbing the back of his right leg after throwing a couple of pitches. Up to that point, López had been performing well, allowing just one unearned run on three hits with six strikeouts over 4.2 innings.
The Royals won the game 2-1, with Vinnie Pasquantino scoring the go-ahead run in the eighth inning off Minnesota reliever Griffin Jax, who took the loss. López’s injury adds to the Twins’ challenging start to the 2025 season, as they’ve won only three of their first eight games and are now on the brink of a sweep in the three-game series in Kansas City. The team’s rough start also included a season-opening sweep by the St. Louis Cardinals and a mixed series with the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros.
The full extent of López’s injury remains unclear, but it could open the door for Zebby Matthews to be called up from the minors. Matthews pitched for Triple-A St. Paul Saints on Tuesday, allowing two runs and striking out nine in five innings.
López’s outing against the Royals was his third start of the season. In his first two starts, he allowed three earned runs on 15 hits with two walks and 14 strikeouts in 16.2 innings. In 2025, López finished with a 15-10 record, a 4.08 ERA, and a 3.65 FIP across 32 starts for the Twins. Notably, he has not missed a start since being traded to Minnesota from the Miami Marlins in 2023.
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