For only the second time this month, the Twins scored nine or more runs against their opponent. They beat the Kansas City Royals, 9-2, on Sept. 11 and on Tuesday they banged out 16 hits, including three extra-base hits, to knock off the Chicago Cubs 9-5.
The Twins scored first, then fell behind and then poured it on with seven runs after the third inning. The heart of the order was on fire, with Josh Donaldson, Max Kepler, Nick Gordon and in his return to the lineup, Mitch Garver, all collecting three or more hits. Gordon also homered in the win.
Starter Griffin Jax wasn’t terrible, but he also wasn’t nearly good enough to walk away with the win. He struck out six over three innings, but also allowed three runs, two walks and two home runs.
The Twins can even their season series with the Cubs at two games apiece on Wednesday. Joe Ryan, who survived a major scare in his last start after he was hit on the back of his pitching hand with a line drive, gets the ball.
Extra innings…
-It was bean ball city on Tuesday. Four players, including Byron Buxton, were hit by pitches.
-The Twins are now 66-85 on the season, but the Cubs are no better at 67-84. There’s always next season, as they say.
-Cleveland took two of three games from the New York Yankees in The Bronx, then came home and dropped a doubleheader to the Royals. That’s life in the AL Central for you.
-The St. Louis Browns* lost again on Tuesday, but get this: On Monday, they shut out the Philadelphia Phillies on four hits. Bryce Harper struck out twice in the loss. The Browns are now 48-103. The Phillies are still 4.5 games back in the National League wild card race.
-The Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays all won on Tuesday. The Yanks remain a half game back in the wild card race.
-On Sept. 21, 1970, the Oakland A’s Vida Blue no-hits the Twins 6-0 before only 4,200 fans at Oakland-Alameda County Stadium, according to Baseball-Reference.com. It was almost a perfect game until Blue walked Harmon Killebrew in the fourth inning. No matter, the Twins went on to win the division in 1970.
*The St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles in 1954.