MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Simeon Woods Richardson outpitched Shota Imanaga with five scoreless innings, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago Cubs 8-1 on Tuesday night.
Ryan Jeffers had three RBIs and the first of three homers for the Twins in a six-run eighth off Porter Hodge, who was also taken deep by Willi Castro and Harrison Bader and got just one out.
Royce Lewis drove in two runs, and All-Star Byron Buxton and Jeffers greeted Imanaga (5-3) with back-to-back doubles to start a two-run first inning.
The left-hander, who was an All-Star as an MLB rookie last year, finished six innings for the first time since April 4 after missing nearly two months with a strained hamstring.
The Twins again shielded Woods Richardson (5-4) from the toughest matchups, turning to the bullpen for the third time through the heart of the order of Kyle Tucker, Seiya Suzuki, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch, who present as daunting a challenge in the second through fifth spots as there is in baseball.
The decision paid off, despite Woods Richardson throwing only 61 pitches, against the highest-scoring team in the major leagues. Brock Stewart struck out Dansby Swanson with runners at the corners to end the sixth.
Justin Turner’s 200th career home run in the ninth ended the shutout.
Key moment
Griffin Jax gave up a single and a walk with a two-run lead to start the eighth, before striking out Suzuki and Crow-Armstrong and retiring Busch on a line drive to right.
Key stat
Woods Richardson, who spent nearly a month in Triple-A earlier this season, has allowed just 11 hits in 26 innings with a 1.38 ERA over his last five starts.
Up next
RHP Cade Horton (3-2, 4.15 ERA) starts the middle game of the series on Wednesday for the Cubs, opposite Twins RHP David Festa (2-3, 5.48).