Goldeyes' Matulovich named Pitcher of the Month

Winnipeg Goldeyes right-hander Joey Matulovich has been chosen as the American Association’s Rawlings Pitcher of the Month for June, the league announced Monday.
 
Matulovich was 3-1 in June, with a 1.59 earned run average, and 48 strikeouts.

He was named Pitcher of the Week on June 10 after he won both his starts, allowing just one earned run in the process. A 7-2 victory over Kane County at Blue Cross Park June 3 was followed up with a spectacular complete game, 14-strikeout performance in an 8-1 triumph over the Milwaukee Milkmen in Franklin, Wisconsin June 9.
 
The 26-year-old is 5-1 on the season with a 2.14 ERA, is tops in the circuit in strikeouts (71) and is tied with teammate Landen Bourassa for the league lead in innings pitched (59.0).
 
A native of Walnut Creek, California, Matulovich joined the Goldeyes during the first week of the 2023 campaign and finished the season with a 5-9 record and a 3.93 ERA 20 starts. His 121 strikeouts were just three shy of the league lead, and he ranked fifth with 116.2 innings pitched.
 
Matulovich was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 20th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft out of the University of California (Berkeley, California).
 
He spent parts of five seasons in the Brewers’ system, reaching as high as Class-A Advanced with the Midwest League’s Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Matulovich appeared in 95 career games in the affiliated minor leagues, primarily out of the bullpen. He compiled a 12-10 record with a 4.66 ERA and two saves.
 
Matulovich is the first Goldeyes player to garner a monthly honour since Luis Ramírez was named Pitcher of the Month in June 2022.
 
Winnipeg has Canada Day off before opening a three-game series against the Explorers in Sioux City, Iowa Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. CDT. Right-hander Zac Reininger (3-3, 4.86 ERA) will start for the Goldeyes while lefty Jaren Jackson (0-0, 2.53 ERA) is expected to take the mound for Sioux City.
  
The team returns home Friday, July 5 at 7:00 p.m., when the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks visit Blue Cross Park.