Cubs slug 4 HRs, including Russell slam, in rout of Twins

[June 30, 2018]  Shortstop Addison Russell hit a wind-blown grand slam, and Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and Kyle Schwarber also homered to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 10-6 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Heyward had two hits, scored three runs and drove in two more, and center fielder Albert Almora Jr. also had three hits and scored two runs for Chicago, which won for the third time in its last four games. Anthony Rizzo added two hits and an RBI, and Zobrist chipped in two RBIs and two runs scored.

Mike Montgomery (3-2), making his seventh start of the season on a 96-degree day that featured a heat index of 108 on the field at game time, picked up the win, allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out five.

Joe Mauer homered, drove in five runs and had three hits, and Eddie Rosario and Mitch Garver each had two hits for Minnesota, which lost for the sixth time in its last eight games. It was the seventh time in his career that Mauer, who improved to 9-for-18 with nine RBIs and two homers in four career games in Wrigley Field, drove in at least five runs in a game.

Jose Berrios (8-6) picked up the loss, allowing six runs on six hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings. It marked just the second time in his last nine starts that Berrios allowed more than two runs in a game.

Mauer gave the Twins a 3-0 lead in the second inning, driving a 2-0 fastball just over the ivy and into the basket in left field to drive in Max Kepler and Garver, who opened the inning with singles, for his second home run of the year and first in 99 at-bats.

Cubs left fielder Ben Zobrist (18) hits a two run home run in the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Heyward bashed his fifth home of the season to right-center in the third to cut it to 3-2, but Mauer answered with a two-run line double into the gap in right-center that hit the tip of the glove of a diving Almora to put Minnesota back up by three runs, 5-2.

The Cubs took the lead for good in the fifth. Heyward started the rally with a one-out single to right, Zobrist was then hit by a pitch and Rizzo lined a sharp single to right to load the bases. Russell then lofted a high fly to left that, aided by a strong breeze in that direction, barely cleared the fence for a grand slam to give Chicago a 6-5 lead and chase Berrios.

Zobrist hit a two-run home run to right off reliever Matt Magill in the sixth to make it 8-5, and Schwarber followed with a 422-foot solo shot to dead center in the seventh. Rizzo added an RBI single in the eighth that drove in Almora to up the lead to 10-5.

Robbie Grossman's two-out single off Justin Wilson drove in Rosario for the final run of the game. Brandon Morrow then got Kepler to fly out to center on his first pitch to notch his 17th save of the season.

--Field Level Media

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