The Minnesota Twins enjoyed a near-perfect series opener against the Chicago Cubs.
The next challenge for the Twins will be to duplicate it.
The Twins will meet the Cubs on Wednesday night in the second installment of a three-game set in Minneapolis. Minnesota will try to stay hot after winning three of its past four games, including 8-1 over the Cubs on Tuesday night.
“Everywhere you looked, our guys stepped up and did a nice job,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.
Chicago would love to spoil the Twins’ good feelings.
Despite their loss on Tuesday, the Cubs have won five of their past seven games and are 8-4 since June 25. Chicago is 17 games above .500, with five contests remaining before the All-Star break.
Cubs right-hander Cade Horton (3-2, 4.15 ERA) will try to help his team get back on track after the loss Tuesday.
Horton, a 23-year-old rookie, is coming off the best start of his career, even though it ended in a no-decision. He threw seven scoreless innings in his team’s 1-0, 10-inning victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday while allowing five hits, walking two and striking out five.
This will be Horton’s first start against Minnesota. He is 1-2 with a 5.96 ERA in five interleague starts.
The Twins will counter with right-hander David Festa (2-3, 5.48 ERA), who will make his ninth start of the season. Festa will look to bounce back from a defeat in his most recent outing, when he allowed four runs on five hits in six innings in a 4-1 loss to the Miami Marlins on Thursday.
Festa has made one appearance against the Cubs, last August. He pitched five scoreless innings and allowed two hits and two walks while striking out nine in earning the victory.
The Cubs likely will give right-handed reliever Porter Hodge a day off after he gave up six runs on five hits while retiring only one batter on Tuesday. His ERA ballooned from 4.63 to 6.85 as he surrendered three home runs in the eighth inning.
As a rookie last season, Hodge was 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA and nine saves in 39 relief appearances.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell said he was not sure what led to Hodge’s unraveling in the series opener.
“We’ve got to dig into that one because, frankly, we haven’t seen that with Porter,” Counsell said.
Hodge said he felt healthy and that the problem was not related to any potential physical limitation.
“Physically, good,” he said. “Everything feels great. It’s just something mechanical that’s probably going on.”
Cubs first baseman Michael Busch hopes for a better day at the plate during his return to his home state. He finished 1-for-4 on Tuesday.
Busch starred in high school in Inver Grove Heights, Minn., which is a suburb of the Twin Cities.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve been back,” Busch said. “I don’t spend a lot of time in Minnesota, especially in the summer. So just coming back, and so much support from the community and coaches and teachers and especially family. It’s just been a really cool, special little reminder of how I grew up.”