Twins 8, Cubs 1: Ryan Jeffers, Twins Ambush Cubs

Box Score
SP: Simeon Woods Richardson 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (61 pitches, 40 strikes (66%))
Home Runs: Ryan Jeffers (7), Willi Castro (8), Harrison Bader (11)
Top 3 WPA: Woods Richardson (.246), Jeffers (.139), Griffin Jax (.073)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 
 

The Twins took a day off on Monday to contemplate the sweep of the Rays that could have been, and to turn the mental page forward to facing the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs. Simeon Woods Richardson (4-4, 4.41 ERA) came into Tuesday night's contest having won his last two starts. Lefty Shota Imanaga (5-2, 2.27 ERA) took the hill for the Cubs, looking to win his third in a row since returning from the IL in late June. On paper, the Twins were underdogs, but could they become top dogs on the terra firma of Target Field?

It's an Early Twins Ambush!
After Woods Richardson struck out two in a scoreless top of the first, 2025 All-Star and Home Run Derby participant Byron Buxton got behind 0-2, before lacing a double to left to lead off the bottom half of the first. Ryan Jeffers played copycat, also falling behind 0-2 to Imanaga before he ripped a double down the left-field line to score Buxton and post an early 1-0 advantage for the home team.

In a tumultuous June, the Twins left many a runner stranded in scoring position with less than two outs. After Willi Castro grounded out to the shortstop and left Jeffers standing at second, Twins fans no doubt began to rev up their "Here we go again" engine. Carlos Correa singled to advance Jeffers but not score him, and the engine kept on revving. Royce Lewis came up to the plate, and before Twins Territory could shout it, Lewis delivered the necessary baseball play: a deep fly ball that scored Jeffers and put a crooked number on the board in the first inning for the first time since June 22. Suddenly, Woods Richardson was trotting back out for the second inning with a 2-0 lead.

Simeon Woods Richardson is a Good Pitcher
Miracle or mirage? That was the question facing Woods Richardson as he entered tonight's contest. When he found himself in trouble, he kept things from imploding. Woods Richardson mixed his pitches well, kept a talented Cubs lineup off their toes, and bulldozed through the lineup two times. As has been the case, Rocco Baldelli lifted him before the lineup turned over for a third time and he left as the pitcher of record surrendering only two hits and no runs in five innings.

Good Thing the Twins Ambushed Early
The Twins offense could muster absolutely nothing off of Imanaga the rest of the way, as he cruised through innings two through six without surrendering another rally or run. Former Twins fan favorite Caleb Thielbar came in to pitch the seventh and gave up some warning track power to Lewis, but ultimately kept the Twins scoreless as well.

Meanwhile, the Twins sent Danny Coulombe out to take care of business in the top of the sixth, and Cole Sands for a 1-2-3 seventh. Griffin Jax got the call for the top of the eighth, and immediately stepped into the danger zone yet again after a rough outing on Sunday afternoon. He gave up a leadoff single to Ian Happ and walked Kyle Tucker on a full count, to put two men on with nobody out. Jax settled down to strike out Seiya Suzuki and Pete Crow-Armstrong to bring last week's Player of the Week, Michael Busch, to the plate with one last chance to ruin the Twins' night. Busch crushed a ball 102 mph to right, but the Twins had a guy there named Willi Castro. The right fielder easily put away Busch on the liner and thwarted the Cubs' threat.

It's a Late Twins Ambush!
Porter Hodge came in to face the Twins in the bottom of the eighth, and he had been cruising, only surrendering one run in six outings since mid-May. Hodge made the mistake of walking Buxton to start the inning, and while he was busy worrying about Buxton's speed at first, he forgot to worry about Jeffers at the plate. Jeffers thought three RBIs on the night sounded just swell.

Not to be outdone, Castro pulled a sweeper into the right field porch to immediately make it 5-0 Twins. Correa added to Hodge's misery with a rope of a double to the wall in left, and he scored, too, when Lewis snuck a grounder through the left side to make it 6-0. As if that wasn't enough, Harrison Bader kept his good times rolling with a moonshot of his own to make it 8-0!

The Twins celebrated their new-found blowout by getting to save Jhoan Duran for a later date, and sending Joey Wentz out for the ninth inning. With one out, the ageless Justin Turner took care of the shutout with a solo home run to left, but Wentz induced a double play to end the game and to send the Target Field crowd home happy with an 8-1 victory.

What’s Next?
The Twins look to take their second series in a row against a playoff-caliber opponent on Wednesday evening. Twins righty David Festa (2-3, 5.48 ERA) will look to not get ambushed like he did against the Marlins in his last outing, while the Cubs will send righty Cade Horton (3-2, 4.15 ERA) to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm CDT.

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