August 6th 2024.
The Twins had a strong weekend against the Chicago White Sox, sweeping them at Target Field and sending them into a 20-game losing streak. It was a tough blow for the Sox, who are currently the worst team in baseball. On Monday, the Twins faced off against the Chicago Cubs, their northside counterparts, and came out on top thanks to some stellar pitching.
One of the standout players for the Twins was rookie right-hander David Festa. He had a bit of a rocky start to his major league career, but has been steadily improving with each game. In his fifth big-league start on Monday, he shut down the Cubs over five scoreless innings, leading the Twins to a 3-0 victory at Wrigley Field. Festa attributed his success to his confidence and execution of pitches, something he felt he hadn't been doing enough of in his first couple of outings.
The 24-year-old pitcher struck out a career-high nine batters, while the rest of the Twins' pitching staff fanned a combined 14 batters. Festa's strikeouts were crucial in important moments, like when he struck out leadoff hitter Ian Happ with two outs and runners on second and third in the fifth inning, preserving a two-run lead. Catcher Ryan Jeffers was impressed with Festa's performance, noting his ability to generate swings and misses, something he had been known for in the minors.
The Twins had a 2-0 lead going into the ninth inning, thanks to a sacrifice fly from Royce Lewis in the third and a solo home run by Manny Margot in the fourth. They added an insurance run in the ninth when Matt Wallner hit a leadoff double and scored on a double-play ground ball by Jeffers. Relief pitchers Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar, Jorge Alcala, Jhoan Duran, and Jax combined for four scoreless innings, securing the Twins' second shutout in eight days.
The Twins' win on Monday marked their fifth consecutive victory, bringing them 15 games over .500 for the first time this season. They also closed the gap between them and first-place Cleveland in the American League Central Division to just 3.5 games. Manager Rocco Baldelli was pleased with the team's performance and highlighted the strong pitching from Thielbar, who struck out all three batters he faced in the sixth inning.
Margot had a strong game, going 2 for 4 with a home run off Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks. Lewis also had a solid performance, driving in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly. The Twins could have potentially scored more runs against Hendricks, but a mistake from Trevor Larnach cost them. After Larnach's single to center field, he failed to run to first base on Matt Wallner's long drive to right-center, resulting in him being easily thrown out at home.
Baldelli admitted that Larnach's mistake could have been costly, but he quickly moved on and reminded Larnach to forget about it and focus on the next game. The manager reassured everyone that it was just a mental error and not a lack of effort from the player. Despite the mistake, the Twins came out victorious and are looking strong in the middle of the season.
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