Twins' five-game winning streak ends with loss to Cubs

Minnesota was only able to collect two hits off Cubs starter Shota Imanaga on Tuesday.

Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch (29) is safe at second base as Minnesota Twins shortstop Willi Castro (50) makes a late tag during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Aug. 6, 2024. / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Twins were only able to collect two hits off Chicago Cubs starter Shota Imanaga, and while one of them was quite effective, it wasn’t enough as Minnesota saw its five-game winning streak come to an end with a 7-3 loss to the Cubs Tuesday night at Wrigley Field in Chicago. 

Imanaga kept the Twins in check for seven innings, allowing just the two hits and two runs while fanning 10. While the first hit he surrendered was a two-run, 365-foot homer to Royce Lewis in the fourth inning, Imanaga was otherwise lights out and in complete control throughout the game.

Imanaga didn’t allow another hit until the sixth inning when Brooks Lee led off with a double to center field. But he struck out Manny Margot, then got Carlos Santana and Lewis to ground out. 

Imanaga ended his day with a 1-2-3 seventh inning and improved to 9-2 with the win. 

The Twins (63-49) didn’t have many chances with runners in scoring position, going 0 for 3. 

Offensively, meanwhile, the Cubs (56-60) took a lead right away in the first inning on a three-run homer from Isaac Paredes. Paredes later made it a 4-0 Cubs advantage when he hit an RBI single off Twins starter Pablo Lopez in the third innings. Paredes went 2 for 3 overall with the four RBIs.

Lopez allowed the four runs and seven hits in all while fanning two across five innings, falling to 10-8.

The Cubs plated another pair of runs in the sixth inning off recently-called-up Randy Dobnak, who surrendered an RBI triple to Dansby Swanson, who later scored himself on a wild pitch from Dobnak.

While Dobnak rebounded with a nine-pitch 1-2-3 seventh inning, he gave up another pair in the eighth inning on a two-run single from Pete Crow-Armstrong. That came after the Twins had gotten within three runs on a 381-foot solo homer from Christian Vazquez in the top of the eighth.

The Twins and Cubs will play for the series win when they meet in the finale at 1:20 p.m. Wednesday.