Twins 8, Cubs 1: Flush this one and move on

The Cubs began their road trip on a sour note.

Your recap of the Cubs’ 8-1 loss to the Twins Tuesday is going to be pretty short.

That’s because there’s not a whole lot to discuss. Shōta Imanaga had a rough first inning, allowing two runs on a pair of doubles and a sacrifice fly. After that he threw pretty well, ending his day with six innings and just the two runs allowed.

The Cubs could not get any offense going, at all, against Simeon Woods Richardson and four Twins relievers through eight innings. They had just four hits in the first eight innings, all singles, and hit themselves out of potential rallies with two double plays and an 0-for-5 log with RISP.

What we did learn Tuesday is that Porter Hodge is… well, something’s wrong there, and I’m not sure what it is. Hodge threw pretty well in his first four appearances following a rehab assignment, but this one… yikes. He allowed six hits, three of them home runs, and five runs in a brutal inning that turned a fairly close game into a blowout.

Not that the Cubs were actually making the game any closer, as 2-0 heading to the eighth seemed like an insurmountable deficit.

So Hodge, I would think, is likely going back to Triple-A Iowa after his 27-pitch inning. By sheer coincidence, the I-Cubs are visiting the St. Paul Saints this week. So the Cubs don’t have to book any flights for Hodge or whoever’s recalled (likely Gavin Hollowell, I’d think, or maybe Ethan Roberts), all they’ll need are a couple of Uber rides. Whoever comes up from Iowa probably sticks around the rest of the week, then Jed Hoyer & Co. will figure out what to do during the All-Star break. I suppose it’s possible Ben Brown could return — he last pitched on Sunday.

Things got so bad for Hodge that once the score reached the eight-run deficit that’s needed to bring a position player in to pitch, Craig Counsell called again on Jon Berti, who threw on Friday against the Cardinals and allowed a couple of runs with a 10-run lead. This time Berti recorded two outs without allowing a run, for whatever that’s worth beyond amusement value.

I can show you two Cubs highlights from this defeat.

First, this leaping catch by Ian Happ in the fifth [VIDEO].

And second, Justin Turner entered the game in the ninth as a pinch-hitter and hit a home run, the 200th of his career [VIDEO].

So congrats to Turner on that milestone. Oh, and about that home run?

Let’s wrap this with the “one and only fact,” as BCB’s JohnW53 put it when he sent it to me, for this game:

This was the Cubs’ fourth loss of the season by at least seven runs. The others were at Arizona, 8-1; and at home against the Mariners, 14-6, and Giants, 14-5 in 11 innings.

The Cubs have won 14 games by at least seven runs — one quarter of all their wins. Those 14 were two more than by any other team going into last night. The Tigers had 12; the Yankees, 11.

The Brewers won Tuesday, so the Cubs’ NL Central lead drops to 2½ games.

That’s all I’ve got here. You certainly recognize the headline here as something Kyle Hendricks used to say after losses like this. This is a good Cubs team and I’m certain they will indeed do that, and hopefully begin a new winning streak tonight in Minneapolis. Cade Horton will start for the Cubs and David Festa goes for the Twins. Game time is again 6:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

I told you this was going to be short.