Field Level Media
Sep 19, 2020
Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano and Josh Donaldson homered, and the Minnesota Twins gained an 8-1 win over the host Chicago Cubs on Saturday night to clinch a playoff berth for the second straight year and the third time in the past four seasons.
Jorge Polanco added two hits and a run for Minnesota (32-22), which won for only the second time in its past six games. The Twins evened the series against the Cubs, with the finale set for Sunday.
David Bote doubled and drove in Chicago's lone run. The loss snapped a five-game win streak for the Cubs (31-21).
Twins right-hander Michael Pineda (2-0) limited Chicago to one run on four hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out one.
Cubs right-hander Alec Mills (5-4) took the loss in his first start since throwing a no-hitter six days earlier against the Milwaukee Brewers. Against the Twins, Mills gave up four runs on six hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out seven.
Minnesota grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. With two outs, Rosario hit Mills' pitch over the wall in right field for his 12th homer of the season.
In the second, the Cubs evened the score at 1-1. Bote doubled to left field to drive in Willson Contreras and collect his 26th RBI, which is second on the team behind Ian Happ (28).
The Twins regained the lead at 2-1 in the sixth. Rosario delivered again as he ripped an RBI single to right field. Minnesota pulled away with five runs in the seventh to increase its advantage to 7-1.
Sano led off the inning with a mammoth blast to left field that traveled an estimated 453 feet. It was his 13th homer of the year, enabling him to trail only Nelson Cruz (16) for the team lead.
Max Kepler added another run when he beat a throw home from Cubs shortstop Javier Baez. In the next at-bat, Mitch Garver hit a two-run single to left field to bring in Marwin Gonzalez and Jorge Polanco.
Byron Buxton capped the Twins' big inning with a single to center to drive home Donaldson to make it 7-1. Buxton, 26, has at least one RBI in four of his past five games.
Donaldson added a solo homer in the ninth, his sixth homer of the season, to finish the scoring.
--Field Level Media