Twins 5, Cubs 2: Back to .500 at Last with Quality Win to Start Second Half

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of David Banks-Imagn Images

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober – 5 ⅓ IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Home Runs: Ryan Jeffers (8)
Top 3 WPA: Ryan Jeffers (.130), Bailey Ober (.090), Tristan Gray (.090)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

Baseball has returned from its break. Even a sport needs a sojourn. The time off offered a reset—the kind of mental and physical break needed as players and coaches and executives gather their senses midway through the seasonal slog. 

In their foray into action rebooted, the Twins gathered at Wrigley Field to play against the Cubs. Bailey Ober took the mound, his first start in the hallowed grounds. With a shuttered sigh, he walked Pete Crow-Armstrong to start the game. Was anyone surprised when he immediately stole second? Then a second walk. Then an RBI single. Perhaps Ober should have considered himself lucky to escape the frame with just the lone run against him; he coaxed a strikeout from Alex Bregman and a double play off the bat of Ian Happ.

The Twins responded with silence. If you choose not to decide, then you still have made a choice, of course. Colin Rea had them under his thumb. Alan Roden challenged a strike three obvious to the blind and dead. 

But it was a ruse; Minnesota had a plan after all. Luke Keaschall reached on an infield single in the third, and he made third while keeping Tristan Gray safe on a soft chopper with subtle acumen. The grounder found the second baseman, and the second baseman should have found the shortstop on a force play, but Keaschall blocked the line of sight—and slightly deflected the ball with an unruly, flailing arm—and caused the ball to smack Dansby Swanson square in the jaw, bloodying his square jaw. He would be fine. The Cubs lead would not be.

Trevor Larnach slashed a single to left to score one. Then Ryan Jeffers swatted a sweeper that caught too much of the plate, sending the offering 369 feet out to left field for a short, yet potent three-run homer.

 

The teams traded zeroes for two frames, with little resistance from either offense. Attempts were stifled. Balls in play found unforgiving gloves. It was a usual seesaw baseball streak; with scoreless innings and defeated hitters trudging back to the dugout after unsuccessful attempts to add on.

The score changed but the deficit righted itself, as the Cubs plated a run on a wild pitch in sixth, and the Twins pushed across a run of their own thanks to a Ryan Kreidler pinch-hit single in the seventh. By now, the entering of the bullpens hadn’t changed either side’s fortune; matters were as they stood when the starters roamed the field.

Andrew Morris gave way to Yoendrys Gómez and the lead remained true: Minnesota held still as the victors, besting the Cubs with only tepid resistance from the home team lineup. The Twins bullpen held them scoreless, a statement seemingly impossible in games past. Perhaps something has finally changed. Perhaps this iteration of the Twins have finally found themselves. We shall soon see. 

Post-Game Interview:

 

What’s Next?
The Twins and Cubs trek back to Wrigley Field on Saturday, with Taj Bradley set to start against Matt Boyd. First pitch arrives at 1:20 PM.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	MON	TUE	WED	THUR	FRI	TOT
Nance	0	0	0	0	25	25
Gómez	0	0	0	0	22	22
Morris	0	0	0	0	14	14
Rogers	0	0	0	0	2	2
Rojas	0	0	0	0	0	0
Go	0	0	0	0	0	0
Adams	0	0	0	0	0	0
Funderburk	0	0	0	0	0	0

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[wesnewy]

Yoendrys Gomez

[shimrod]

Twins defense is trending up. Thanks, Shelty. 

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

defense and bullpen are rounding into shape quite nicely.  

[Saxophone Joe]

A world of difference from how we came out of the break last year.

What a turnaround from Ober. He threw 20+ pitches before he got his first out! I doubted if he was going to make it past the 2nd.  

Luke Keaschall: Baseball player. 

[SF Twins Fan]

Great way to start the 2nd half! This team is so much more fun to watch than last season.  A move or two, and adding a prospect like Jenkins could really propel this team forward.

[RpR]

[tony&rodney]

That was a sweet DP by Royce Lewis in the 1st inning and he is playing good defense on grounders, flips to pitchers, and in digging balls out of the dirt.

Beautiful catch by Luke Keaschall.

Quick, short inning for Morris and Gomez looked good too.

Kreidler continues to impress. 

Ober was tantalizing, driving the Cubs crazy with his slow stuff. 

Big hit by Trevor and nice touch on the inning by Jeffers with the HR.

Good win on a rare Friday night game at Wrigley in front of a packed house.

[mark allen]

I really like this team.

[RpR]

4 minutes ago, SF Twins Fan said:

Great way to start the 2nd half! This team is so much more fun to watch than last season.  A move or two, and adding a prospect like Jenkins could really propel this team forward.

Yeah SO MANY Twins rookies that did well in AAA have come out really, really done so well.

[mark allen]

Shelton making all the right moves. Royce looks like a gold glove first baseman. Keash playing great outfield. Team coming together. Morris and Gomez shutting teams down.

[tony&rodney]

Just now, RpR said:

Yeah SO MANY Twins rookies that did well in AAA have come out really, really done so well.

Don't fret. There are some good baseball players in AAA. The current roster is doing well and it always seems like someone gets injured which necessitates a call to St. Paul. In the meantime everyone should enjoy the club on the field.

[Peter]

Great win to start off 2nd half and road trip!!! Back to .500!!!  Let’s get a win tomorrow and get over and stay above .500!!! Go twins!!!

[RpR]

Just now, tony&rodney said:

Don't fret. There are some good baseball players in AAA. The current roster is doing well and it always seems like someone gets injured which necessitates a call to St. Paul. In the meantime everyone should enjoy the club on the field.

Oh I am sure there are some that will make a mark in 2027, to bring them up now would be foolish unless and injury requires it.

Right now Keaschall is earning his keep.

[SD happy]

4 minutes ago, mark allen said:

I really like this team.

Pretty amazing that this team has a better record than last year’s team with Duran, Varland, Jax, Lopez, Correa……..

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Nice win! Glad to be back at .500! 

What is the obsession with constantly starting Gray? Just put Kriedler in. Set it and forget it. 

[SD happy]

I’m curious, can someone smarter (and younger) than me check to see what the records are of this years team vs last year when leading after the 7th inning?

[LastOnePicked]

Is there a Derek Shelton Fan Club yet? Thinking of joining.

[DocBauer]

Ober had a couple poor starts before he went on the IL. I'm still wondering if he was trying to "gut it out" for the team. The truth is his lost velocity might be permanent, unfortunately. But except for those couple of games pre IL stint, he has actually been very solid as a throwback SP confounding batters with breaking stuff, changes of speed, and location. He's so damn smart, and has so much control and confidence, that he has re-invented himself as an old school starter.  He's no longer a #3 who throws like a #2 once in a while, but he looks like a really good #4-5 SP. And there's still tremendous value in that.

I remember when Keaschall was drafted and all the great accolades placed on him as a "hitter" and being a "gamer". The FO and scouting department just loved his talent and attitude as a "ballplayer". But I clearly remember scouting reports that said he might be a future CF.

I thought that was interesting, but put it on the backburer in my head. I still saw him as an athletic 2B with a great bat, who might sit at 2B for many years.

I'm still hopeful that he can play an acceptable 2B once in a while, with experience, but there is a "block" where I belive he "thinks" too much at 2B instead of reacting. In time, that might change.  I hope it does because it only increases his value as a utility player who can play 2B and some 1B as necessary, here and there. And he has experience at 1B. 

But DAMN has he looked good in the OF so far! He's only had a couple misplays in RF so far, which he seemed to adapt to almost immediately. 

And his CF instincts seem intact as well. He's done well there in limited playing time so far. But the catch he made in deep left center field tonight was something that only Buxton might have made.

His arm may or may not be a problem going forward. And I'd still like him to work at 2B and 1B to increase his versatility for roster/lineup sake, but DAMN if he doesn't look like a tremendous OF.

**Bonus points after a great game offensively and defensively with a dirty uniform.

[DocBauer]

Just a small side note that doesn't really mean anything in the long run, but there was a potential out at 1B in the late innings where Lewis stretched out as far as he could to snag the ball and still keep his foot on the bag.

The runner was ruled safe. But the glove snag, and the stretch, shows me Lewis is really settling in at 1B.

Sometimes you look at the little things. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

This game FELT like a game they would not have won in 2025. Fun to see. Good defense, and Ober looked more than solid. Fun atmosphere on the road too. Keep it up!