The Minnesota Twins walked into Sunday with a chance to keep their recent surge rolling and leave Wrigley Field with another series win. Instead, the Chicago Cubs slammed the door early and never let up, rolling to a 10-1 win.
Zebby Matthews was under pressure from the start and couldn’t slow Chicago’s lineup. Alex Bregman put the Cubs in front with a two-run homer in the first, then Chicago tacked on another run in the second before the third inning turned the game into a runaway.
That’s where Nico Hoerner delivered the biggest blow. With the bases loaded, he drove a ball toward Luke Keaschall in center field.
Keaschall came in aggressively, then got caught between making the catch and keeping the ball in front of him. The ball skipped to the warning track, and three runs came home on Hoerner’s triple.
Pedro Ramirez followed with an RBI single, pushing the lead to 7-0.
The Cubs weren’t close to finished. They added three more runs in the fourth, and Matthews’ day was over after three innings. He was charged with 10 runs, eight earned, on nine hits and three walks.
Minnesota turned to Travis Adams for three innings of relief after Matthews exited, a move that helped manager Derek Shelton keep the rest of the bullpen fresh for the upcoming divisional series.
Chicago’s pitching made sure the Twins never found a real opening. Shota Imanaga worked seven shutout innings, giving up six hits and one walk while striking out four. Royce Lewis finally kept Minnesota from being blanked, doubling and later driving in the lone run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly.
The loss wiped out the offensive momentum Minnesota had built earlier in the series. Ryan Jeffers had delivered a go-ahead three-run homer in Friday’s 5-2 win, and Kody Clemens powered Saturday’s victory with two homers after arriving in the game in an 0-for-19 skid.
None of that carried over to the finale. The Twins couldn’t cash in on the little traffic they created, and after winning the opener, they closed the set with back-to-back losses.
Sunday also snapped Minnesota’s five-series winning streak. Even so, the club is still 9-6 over its last 15 games. The bigger issue is the standings, where the Twins fell to 49-51 heading into a four-game road series against the Cleveland Guardians.
Joe Ryan is lined up to start Monday’s opener against Tanner Bibee at Progressive Field. Minnesota will be looking to shake off an ugly afternoon and make up ground in the American League Central.
The Cubs, meanwhile, stay at Wrigley Field for a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers. Jameson Taillon is expected to return and face Jack Flaherty in Monday’s opener.
In Other News...
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Buxton had been sidelined with a right hip strain, and his return gives the Twins the kind of impact presence they have missed in the middle of a stretch that has little margin for error. With the club still chasing ground in both the division and the Wild Card hunt, every healthy regular matters, and Buxtons activation at least gives Minnesota a little more certainty as the trade deadline approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Make Another Pitching Change As Roster Pressure Keeps Building
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Byron Buxton also rejoined the active roster Monday night, giving the Twins a needed boost in the middle of all the turnover. At the same time, Woo-Suk Go was sent to Triple-A after another difficult relief outing, a move that underscores how quickly roles can change when a team is under pressure and every inning seems to carry extra weight. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Trade Deadline Pressure Is Starting To Feel Very Real
The Twins are heading toward the Aug. 3 trade deadline with the kind of record that makes every front-office decision feel a little more fragile, even as general manager Jeremy Zoll says the club is planning to buy. Minnesota has stayed in the market for pitching help, and the need is obvious enough: the rotation has been thinned by injuries, and the organization is trying to keep itself in position for a run while the rest of the league starts to sort out its own deadline plans.
Byron Buxtons return is also part of the backdrop, with the Twins hoping to get him back during the Cleveland series, perhaps as soon as today. But the bigger question hanging over the week is whether Minnesota can stay close enough to justify acting like a buyer, because the deadline can turn quickly on a club hovering around .500 and still searching for the kind of arm that would make the rest of the summer look a lot different. [Read more 🡒]