*Photo from the Star Tribune*
Big routs are still a thing these days. Trevor Larnach drove in 4 runs, Joey Gallo homered, and the Minnesota Twins rolled right past the Chicago Cubs with a 16-3 rout victory on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Larnach and Gallo combined to drive in 6 of the 16 runs for the Twins, who picked up a series win with consecutive routs. On Saturday, they won by a 11-1 score, giving them 27 runs in two games. They had 18 hits in the finale as they won their 6th out of 10 games.
Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said that "We talk about guys’ confidence and how they feel, and a lot of that does come down sometimes to one swing, and it doesn’t have to be a homer. Sometimes one swing can unlock things for guys. In our game, you have a few things go your way, you feel tremendous when you step into the box and you focus in a different way."
Carlos Correa gave the Twins a 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI double. In the 3rd inning, Larnach made the lead 4-0 with a 3 run home run to center field. Nick Gordon made it 5-0 with an RBI double, and Christian Vazquez made it 6-0 with an RBI single. Gallo then launched a two run home run to make it 8-0 Twins after 3 innings.
In the 4th inning, Christopher Morel got the Cubs on the board, hitting a solo home run to make it 8-1. In the top of the 7th, Seiya Suzuki hit a solo home run and Nick Madrigal hit an RBI single to cut the deficit to 8-3. Kyle Farmer had an RBI single in the bottom of the 7th to make it a 9-3 game.
Correa padded the lead to 10-3 in the 8th with an RBI groundout. Larnach then picked up his 4th RBI of the game with an RBI double to make it 11-3. Farmer then hit an RBI single and Nick Gordon hit an RBI double to extend the lead to 13-3. Vazquez then hit an RBI single, followed by a two run home run by Michael A Taylor to make it a 16-3 final score.
Gallo said of the offense hot streak that "You're going to go through the ups and downs. For our offense, we kept believing. We look at our lineup, we look around our clubhouse, we've got a really good team. We can swing it. Sometimes you're going to get results. Sometimes you're not."
Louie Varland got the start for the Twins, pitching 6 1/3 innings and allowing 3 runs on 4 hits, striking out 7 hitters. Emilio Pagan finished the 7th inning before Jorge Lopez had a scoreless 8th inning. Jorge Alcala worked the 9th to seal the win.
Marcus Stroman got the start for the Cubs, getting hit with 6 runs on 7 hits in 2 2/3 innings of work. Michael Rucker allowed two runs in 1 1/3 innings. Keegan Thompson pitched two innings before Julian Merryweather and Brandon Hughes worked the 7th. Michael Fulmer allowed 3 runs before position player Miles Mastrobuoni allowed 4 runs.
Cubs manager David Ross said of Stroman's start that "They made it tough on him. They’re a good low-ball hitting team as a group, and that’s where he lives. So you’ve got less margin for error when the two strengths line up a little bit and they got the best of him today. Uncharacteristic of him. He’s a guy we usually count on."
Both teams hit the road for Monday night games. The Twins face the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Pablo Lopez starting the series opener. Jameson Taillon starts for the Cubs against the Houston Astros.
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