The only thing rivaling the heat in the Windy City this weekend has been the Chicago Cubs’ bats. The Cubs have scored 35 runs during a three-game winning streak, and they’ll look to continue their hot hitting Sunday when they try to finish off a three-game sweep of the visiting Minnesota Twins, who have lost seven of their last nine.
The offense often picks up when it warms up on the north side of Chicago, and that certainly has been the case for the Cubs in the first two games of the series. With the heat index at 101 at first pitch and reaching as high as 107 later Saturday, four players - Minnesota’s Eddie Rosario, Bobby Wilson, and Max Kepler, along with Chicago’s Albert Almora Jr. - all left the game with heat-related ailments. The Cubs will try to keep the run support coming for left-hander Jon Lester, who is 4-1 with a 1.25 ERA in seven home starts. He will face right-hander Lance Lynn, who hasn’t beaten the Cubs - a familiar foe during his tenure in St. Louis - since 2013.
TV: 2:20 p.m. ET, FS North (Minnesota), WGN (Chicago)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins RH Lance Lynn (5-6, 4.81 ERA) vs. Cubs LH Jon Lester (10-2, 2.18)
After a disastrous start to the season, Lynn has posted quality starts in five of his last seven outings to lower his ERA from 7.47 to 4.81. The 31-year-old lost for just the second time during that stretch when he gave up five runs (four earned) over five-plus innings against the Chicago White Sox last time out. Lynn is 6-6 with a 4.06 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) against the Cubs.
Lester looks to continue the dominant form he showed throughout June, when he was 5-0 with a 1.13 ERA in five starts and held opponents to a .155 batting average. The 34-year-old has won six straight starts and eight of his last nine, with the only loss during that stretch coming in a 1-0 defeat against Cleveland. Lester is 3-4 with a 3.66 ERA in 12 games (11 starts) against the Twins, but he hasn’t faced them since 2015.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Cubs have scored in double digits in three straight games for the first time since April 15-17, 2003, and they lead the majors with 13 games this season with at least 10 runs.
2. Twins 1B/DH Joe Mauer was 2-for-5 with three RBIs Saturday and is now 11-for-23 with two homers and 12 RBIs in five career games at Wrigley Field.
3. Cubs RF Jason Heyward went 4-for-6 Saturday for his third four-hit game of June. Prior to June, his last four-hit contest was April 24, 2016.