Bad elbow sidelines Matt Kinney

In his last start for the New Haven Rock Cats – back on May 30 – Matt Kinney threw the ball between 93 and 97 miles an hour for five innings.

In the sixth, he felt a bit stiff. And over the next few days, Kinney found out that his season may be over.

“The next day there was some swelling, and they found some bone chips in [my elbow],” Kinney said Monday from Minneapolis, where he will undergo surgery today.

Kinney’s surgery will be performed by Dr. John Steubs, a team physician for the Minnesota Twins. Kinney plays for the Twins’ Double A team in the Eastern League.

“It’s not a big deal, but it’s gonna cost me some time,” said the 22-year-old former Bangor High star.

Kinney sports a 3-5 record with a hefty 7.98 earned run average this season.

“The thing is, right now I could pitch with it,” Kinney said. “It’s a matter of whether I want the chance of something happening again. [After the surgery] it will be like a brand new elbow.”

Kinney said he expects to be able to throw the ball lightly in two weeks, and to be cleared to compete in six weeks.

But he’s not sure if he’ll actually pitch for the Rock Cats again this year.

“There’s a chance that I could pitch the last month [of the season], but if not, I’ll be healthy to pitch in winter ball or fall ball or whatever,” he said.

Kinney said that he really didn’t realize he had anything wrong with the elbow during the early innings of his final outing, a loss to the Reading Phillies.

“It felt a little stiff, but I was still able to throw the ball with a lot on it, so it didn’t really trigger anything with me,” he said.

But in the sixth, he began to struggle because he said he couldn’t extend his arm.