This one was decided before most fans had settled into their seats. Alex Bregman went deep in the first inning, and by the time the Cubs were finished piling on, Chicago had a laugher on its hands, beating the Minnesota Twins 10-1 at Wrigley Field.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| CHC | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 10 | 12 | 1 |
Bregman went 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and 2 RBI, but the real story was how quickly Chicago made it look easy. Nico Hoerner drove in 4 runs on a 2-for-5 night that included a triple, and Michael Busch added a 3-for-5 effort with two runs scored. Shota Imanaga did the rest, allowing 6 hits and no runs over 7.0 innings with 4 strikeouts and a walk, improving to 6-8 with a 3.91 ERA.
The Cubs needed only one swing to get going. Bregman homered to left in the first inning, plating Suzuki ahead of him for a 2-0 lead that Chicago would never relinquish. Carson Kelly singled home Ramirez in the second, and the third inning turned into a rout when Hoerner tripled to left, scoring Busch, Bregman and Happ in one swing, then came around himself moments later on a Ramirez single. The fourth inning brought more of the same: Busch, Suzuki and Busch again crossed the plate on a string of Cubs hits and a fielding error by third baseman Lee, pushing the score to 10-0 before Minnesota had managed a single run.
Zebby Matthews had no answers, allowing 10 runs, 8 earned, on 9 hits over 3.0 innings before Minnesota turned to its bullpen, which held Chicago scoreless the rest of the way. The Twins' only run came in the eighth, when Lewis lifted a sacrifice fly to right that brought home Martin. Travis Adams gave Minnesota a lift out of the bullpen with 3.0 shutout innings, but the deficit was already well out of reach.
The win pushed Chicago to 56-43 and extended its winning streak to two games, while Minnesota dropped to 49-51 with its second straight loss.