Game Recap: Twins crush Cubs again
Matt Blewett - USA Today Sports

Game Recap: Twins crush Cubs again


by - Senior Writer -

MINNEAPOLIS - Anytime you let a team outscore you 27-4 in two games, things are not going well. That is what the Chicago Cubs (19-21) endured the past two days at Target Field as the first-place Minnesota Twins (23-18) made quick work of the Cubs. Make no mistake about it, the Twins are a good team, but they are not as good as they have looked the past two days, as the Cubs didn't put up much of a fight.

For a team that has relied on their pitching most of the season, it was nowhere to be found in this series which doesn't bode well when your offense continues to struggle with runners in scoring position. With a chance to take the series, the Cubs sent their ace Marcus Stroman to the mound, who had a day to forget.

Stroman has been as good as you can be this season, as every one of his starts has been a quality start. That didn't happen in this one, as Stroman lasted just 2 2/3 and allowed a season-high six earned runs. That was only the beginning for the Twins, as the Cubs didn't stand a chance in this one and fell 16-3.

Opposing him was right-hander Louie Varland who delivered one of his best, if not his best, outing of the season. Varland gave the Twins 6 1/3 innings and allowed three runs while striking out seven. It was the first win of the season for Varland. He will remember this game for the rest of his life.

I know the final score looks bad, and trust me, 16-3 is a terrible result, but for most of the game, it was the Cubs who outscored the Twins 3-2. The difference was a pair of seven-run frames by the relentless Minnesota offense, as they not only took the lead but made sure they were not going to give the Cubs a chance to come back.

The Twins didn't waste any time getting their offense going, with Alex Kirilloff picking up a one-out single before coming home on the Carlos Correa double. Stroman continued to struggle in the first as he walked a pair of hitters later in the inning before getting out of the first without any further damage.

Any time you can avoid significant damage, you must consider it a win, but you could tell right from the start that this wasn't Stroman's day. In the third inning, the Twins busted the game open and put things away, as this was the first of their two seven-run innings. One-out singles from Correa and Byron Buxton had the Twins in business, but the two-out Trevor Larnach homer put Minnesota in front 4-0.

Two-out magic was the name of the game for this inning, as all seven of the Twin's runs came with two outs. That is an impressive feat, as the Cubs had no answers. That homer was followed by consecutive doubles, including the one from Nick Gordon to make things 5-0. Michael Rucker took over for Stroman from there and allowed a Christan Vazquez RBI single ahead of the Joey Gallo homer to put the Twins in front 8-0.

Playing from behind, the Cubs had to get some offense in a hurry, and Christopher Morel did his part by belting a leadoff homer to make things 8-1 in the fourth.

Morel has been tearing it up all season down in AAA and has continued that during his first week in the majors. Had he been up all season, it would be interesting to see how much of a difference the Cubs would look in the standings.

Following the rough outing from Stroman, the Cubs bullpen started to settle in, with Keegan Thompson coming in for Rucker, who looked great again. Thompson not only worked a scoreless fifth but also a scoreless sixth as he continues to build toward his 2022 form. Trailing by seven in the seventh, the Cubs had a long way to go, but they finally started showing signs of life.

All it took was for Varland to start running out of gas as the Cubs tried to capitalize. Seiya Suzuki led off the seventh with his second homer of the season before a one-out walk by Trey Mancini was the end for Varland, who was replaced by Emilio Pagan.

Pagan came in and allowed a single to Matt Mervis and then a second one to Nick Madrigal, which brought in the Cub's third run of the game to make things 8-3. That was it for them offensively, as the Twin's offense was about to come to life in a big way once again.

With Kyle Farmer extending the lead to 9-3 in the seventh with an RBI single, the Twins second seven-run inning put the game away in the eighth as things got out of hand in a hurry. Three of those runs came off of Micahel Fulmer, with Correa, Larnach, and Farmer all picking up RBIs. The other four came off of Miles Mastrobuoni, who came in to relieve Fulmer.

Mastrobuoni allowed a double to Gordon, a single to Vazquez, and a Michael A. Taylor homer as the Twins erupted for seven more runs to make things 16-3. Eventually, the Twin's offense would stop the madness as Mastrobuoni finished the inning to bring the Cubs to the plate one last time. They were unable to do anything with those at-bats, with Jorge Alcala retiring the side in order. Chicago continues to struggle offensively, with Mervis leading the way with two hits. The Twins had better results, as seven players had two RBIs in the win.

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