The Minnesota Twins sent RHP Michael Pineda to the mound to try to snap a 2-game losing streak and, usually with Pineda on the mound, winning has been a possibility most of the time.
The Twins had a pretty regular lineup set as for players but then changed it and sat DH Nelson Cruz due to right knee soreness and put Eddie Rosario in the DH spot, hitting 3rd.
The order has changed a little since some players have been in slumps lately while others have been doing well. Wade is in the leadoff spot with Buxton behind him and Max Kepler was moved to 5th with Polanco behind him. Donaldson was also getting a day off.
Twins Lineup:
LaMonte Wade Jr LF
Byron Buxton CF
Eddie Rosario DH
Miguel Sanó 1B
Max Kepler RF
Jorge Polanco SS
Marwin Gonzalez 2B
Ehire Adrianza 3B
Alex Avila C
Cubs Lineup:
The Cubs sent RHP Alec Mills to the mound and he threw a no-hitter in his last start so let’s see how long he went without allowing a hit last night.
Mills struck out Wade looking and Buxton swinging to begin the game but Eddie Rosario was ready to hit and a 90mph fastball in the middle of the zone was sent to the right field seats to put the Twins up 1-0 early! BOOM! Sano then struck out swinging to end the top of the 1st. 1-0 Twins
Pineda then took the mound with a lead which is always nice to do before you’ve thrown a pitch. He set the Cubs down 1-2-3 via a groundout, a flyout & a lineout.
The Twins were set down 1-2-3 in the top of the 2nd. Pineda began the bottom of the 2nd by hitting Cubs C Wilson Contreras in the left arm with a payoff pitch to get the Cubs a baserunner to lead off the inning. Pineda got Schwarber to line out to right field and Javier Baez to pop out to short but Jason Heyward 1B’d on a groundball up the middle but Jorge Polanco made a great diving stop to hold Contreras at 3rd and save a run from being scored. Unfortunately, the next batter, David Bote doubled (3) to left center field to score Contreras and advance Heyward to 3rd. Hoerner tried to bunt with 2 outs but Adrianza made a great play to get him out and keep the game tied at 1. 1-1 Tie
The Twins got a 1-out double (2) from C Alex Avila and he advanced to 3rd on LaMonte Wade’s groundout to the pitcher but Buxton grounded out to short to end the inning. Buxton made it close, though. Geez! He’s fast, huh?
Big Mike sent the Cubs down 1-2-3 again in the 3rd (swinging strikeout, popout & flyout). The Twins were then set down 1-2-3 in the top of the 4th (swinging strikeout, strikeout looking & a groundout). Pineda allowed back-to-badk 2-out singles but got a forceout to keep the game tied.
Polanco led off the top of the 5th with a single to right field but Marwin Gonzalez grounded into a 1-6-3 double play on a hard comebacker that Alec Mills caught between his legs. It’s amazing how some plays are made just on quick reactions like it’s almost automatic and muscle memory and hand-eye coordination.
Adrianza struck out looking to end the top of the 5th. Pineda then ended his night by setting the Cubs down 1-2-3 (popout, groundout, lineout) in the bottom of the 5th. Still tied at 1 apiece.
Pineda: 5IP 4 H 1 R/ER 0 BB 1 K on 92 Pitches (59 Strikes)
Alex Avila walked to lead off the top of the 6th then advanced to 2nd on Wade’s groundout to the pitcher. Minnesota Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli pinch-ran for Avila with Jake Cave thinking this was going to be another low-scoring game and runs would be hard to come by. Buxton grounded out to 3rd for the 2nd out but Eddie Rosario came through with an RBI single to right field to score Cave and put the Twins up 2-1. Eddie was then picked off at 1st to end the top of the 6th.
Jeffers replaced Cave, batting 9th and playing catcher and RHP Tyler Duffey replaced Michael Pineda to begin the bottom of the 6th. Duffey then set the Cubs down 1-2-3 via groundout, a flyout and a swinging strikeout to end the 6th inning. 2-1 Twins
Miguel Sano had been slumping for a while but he connected on an Alec Mills fastball and he sent it out of the stadium over left field and on to Waveland Ave. His 13th HR of the season had an exit velocity of 115mph, traveling 453 feet on a launch angle of 24º! The postgame video says the exit velocity was just 99mph, though. Hmm. I’m going with the 115 because that ball was destroyed! Slump-Buster?
Max Kepler, also in a slump, doubled (6) to left center field off Schwarber’s glove then into the ivy for a ground-rule double. The Cubs then made a pitching change to LHP Josh Osich. Polanco greeted him with a singled off 3B Kris Bryant’s glove. Kepler stayed at 2nd base. Marwin Gonzalez was hit by a pitch on his left foot to load the bases. 3B Josh Donaldson pinch-hit for Ehire Adrianza and the Cubs couldn’t make a pitching change due to the new 3-batter rule this season so the LHP had to pitch to Josh Donaldson and, with the infield in because of a 2-1 game and the Cubs trying to keep it that way, he hit a hard grounder to shortstop Javier Baez and he didn’t field it cleanly but quickly picked it up and threw home but it was low and the catcher couldn’t field it cleanly so Kepler was safe at home. E6
Rocco then pinch-hit C Mitch Garver for Ryan Jeffers so the Cubs replaced LHP Josh Osich with RHP Duane Underwood, Jr. and he hit a payoff pitch right in his wheelhouse to left field for a 2-run single and that is good to see for Mitch Garver. Good for the #GarvSauce brand, too. Wade lined into a double play. Donaldson advanced to 3rd. Byron Buxton singled to right field to bring Donaldson home but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double to end the top fo the 7th. 7-1 Twins
Twins RHP Matt Wisler replaced Tyler Duffey to pitch the 7th and the 8th and he used the slider, or what I like to call The Wisler, to strike out 6 of the 7 batters he faced. He allowed a 1-out single in the 7th. He threw 32 pitches of which 29 were sliders or, yeah, Wislers! Wisle while you work, Matt! Check this out at BaseballSavant.com!
Josh Donaldson added his 6th HR of the season in the top of the 9th on a ball hit to the opposite field to put the Twins up 8-1 then RHP Tyler Clippard came in to finish the game and clinch a postseason birth for the 2nd consecutive season for the Minnesota Twins.
Stats & Highlights HERE!
The Twins play in prime time tonight and it’s a great pitching matchup as Twins RHP Jose Berrios (4-3, 4.15 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) pitches against Cubs RHP Yu Darvish (7-2, 1.86 ERA, 0.94 WHIP) at 6:08pm on ESPN! Looks like Yu may have reached the Ace status he was expected to do when he was signed to a 6-year, $126M deal with the Cubs in 2018. He had a very good 2019 season after struggling quite a bit in 2018 with injuries & results.
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