MINNEAPOLIS — In the span of six batters, Tuesday night’s game between the Twins and Cubs swiveled from taut to comfortable to out of hand.
On a night when Minnesota was doing without closer Jhoan Duran, a three-homer outburst turned a tense game into a laugher as the Twins routed the Cubs, 8-1, at Target Field.
It was one of the best all-around games of the year for the Twins, who banged out 12 hits, struck out only three times, got stingy pitching from starter Simeon Woods Richardson and a string of relievers and chalked up multiple slick defensive plays.
“Everywhere you look,” said manager Rocco Baldelli, “our guys stepped up and did a nice job today.”
Ryan Jeffers, Willi Castro and Harrison Bader all went deep against reliever Porter Hodge in a six-run eighth-inning eruption. That turned a two-run game into a blowout and sent Minnesota on its way to its fifth win in six home games.
The rally provided breathing room for a Twins bullpen that pitched well but was down its ninth-inning hammer. Duran was ill on Tuesday and not in the ballpark during the game. Louie Varland would have pitched the ninth in a save situation, but the eighth made that a nonissue.
The Twins had jumped on Cubs starter Shota Imanaga with two first-inning runs, then clung to that advantage through the seventh as Chicago threatened repeatedly but could not break through. Byron Buxton and Jeffers doubled to open the game, and Royce Lewis’ sac fly made the lead 2-0.
“It was big,” said Buxton. “All-Star pitcher. Knows where to put the ball. Knows where he wants to put the ball. To be able to jump on him early is big. He pitched very well throughout the rest of the game, and [we] finally got him out of the game and got to the bullpen. Putting quality at-bats together led to that big inning.”
Woods Richardson walked three but allowed only two hits over five innings, marking the fourth time in five starts that he has allowed two or fewer hits and one or no runs. His last batter was dangerous leadoff man Ian Happ, whom he struck out with a runner on before handing things to the bullpen for the final four innings.
Still, the Twins could not add on, and the Cubs continued to threaten. Castro made a sweet sliding catch in the sixth as Danny Coulombe and Brock Stewart escaped without a run despite two baserunners. Bader made a nifty diving catch behind Cole Sands in the seventh, and in the top of the eighth, Griffin Jax allowed a single and a walk before retiring three straight.
All of which was to say, it never felt comfortable. Until the bottom of the eighth. Buxton led off the eighth with a walk, Jeffers followed with a two-run homer and Castro made it back to back, putting the game firmly in the Twins’ control. Lewis hit an RBI single, and Bader added a two-run shot to complete the eruption.
The Twins have won five of their past six home games after dropping their previous six. They’ve stabilized since a brutal stretch through much of June, winning seven of 12 overall after losing 15 of 18. Minnesota is tied for sixth in the race for the three American League Wild Card spots, four games behind Seattle.
“I feel really good about the depth of our team and the depth of our lineup,” said Jeffers, “where you can kind of put two of your best hitters on the bench today like we did in [Matt] Wallner and [Trevor] Larnach and guys like [Kody Clemens] who are really hitting well. We’ve got just so many guys who can get in there and play big roles, and it’s cool being able to put an eight-spot on a good team without some of your best bats in there.”