CI Recap (6/29/18) – Cubs 10, Twins 6: Cubs Power Their Way to Comeback Win

After earning a split in LA, the Cubs looked to start a long homestand on a good note against the Twins. Friday’s game did not get off to a great start with Chicago falling behind early, but the Northsiders took advantage of the wind blowing out at a steamy Wrigley to rally back for a win.

Mike Montgomery struggled out of the gate, stranding the bases loaded in the 1st. He wasn’t so lucky in the 2nd, when veteran Joe Mauer rode the wind for a three-run homer into the left field basket. The Cubs made it a 3-2 Twins lead when Jason Heyward homered off of Jose Berrios in the bottom of the 3rd. Mauer apparently found the fountain of youth on Clark Street, singling home two more runs in the 4th inning to make it 5-2.

The Cubs got to Berrios in a big way in the 5th inning after he loaded the bases with none out. Addison Russell hit a high fly ball to left field that just kept carrying, finally landing in the seats for a grand slam to give Chicago a 6-5 lead. Ben Zobrist followed with a two-run blast in the 6th to build the lead to 8-5.

Kyle Schwarber hit an absolute bomb above the batter’s eye in center field for a solo homer in the 7th and the Cubs tacked on one more run in the bottom of the 8th. Randy Rosario, Anthony Bass, and Pedro Strop held the Twinkies off the score sheet. Justin Wilson struggled again in the 9th inning, forcing Brandon Morrow to come in to close out the 10-6 win. (Box score)

Why the Cubs Won

The offense picked up Montgomery, who gave up some early runs. The bullpen also kept Minnesota at bay while the comeback was on. As we saw Thursday in LA, the Cubs rode some late power to surge ahead.

Key Moment

A Heyward bloop single, a Zobrist hit by pitch, and an Anthony Rizzo single loaded the bases in front of Russell. The homer likely stays in the park on most days, but the wind gave it a huge boost. It’s nice to see the Cubs going deep with men on base.

Stats That Matter

• It wasn’t the best effort for Monty: 5 IP, 5 R, 3 ER. 7 H, 5 K, and 3 BB. He did well to get out of a couple additional jams and two runs were unearned after his own throwing error on a bunt. Even the homer he allowed was heavily wind-aided.
• Heyward had two hits Friday and his two-run homer is more evidence of how hard he is hitting the ball this season.
• Albert Almora Jr. just keeps hitting, tallying three more knocks in this game.
• Russell is up to a .282 average and a .761 OPS on the season. Perhaps most encouraging, he has gone deep two games in a row. If he starts flashing power again. the Cubs lineup gets even deeper.

Bottom Line

This was one of those crazy wind-blowing-out summer games at Wrigley and the Cubs’ power bats came through in a big way to win it. These games are lot more fun when your guys outslug the other guys.

On Deck

Tyler Chatwood is back from paternity leave and will be pitching on Saturday. He faces Adalberto Mejia, who makes his season debut, at 1:20 pm CT. The broadcast is available on MLB Network (out of market) and ABC-7.