Pete Crow-Armstrong hit two home runs for his fifth multi-homer game this season, powering the Chicago Cubs past the Minnesota Twins 8-1 on Thursday.
Crow-Armstrong, whose first-half breakout earned him a starting spot for the National League All-Star team, went 3 for 4 with three runs and three RBIs to help the Cubs avoid a three-game sweep. Colin Rea (7-3) won his third straight start with a three-hitter over a season-high seven innings, and Minnesota native Michael Busch added two RBIs.
"We got beat today, but as a whole, I was very pleased with the way that we competed in this series," said Manager Rocco Baldelli. "We made a lot of big pitches, big plays, had a lot of good swings when we needed them, executed in a lot of ways that you need to to beat good teams. And we were able to pull a couple games off and win a couple of nice ball games against them. Now we can move on to the next series."
Rea allowed only a fifth-inning home run by Kody Clemens, as the 35-year-old right-hander turned in his longest start since seven shutout innings for Milwaukee last Aug. 18.
Dansby Swanson doubled and scored on Nico Hoerner’s single in the second inning to give the Cubs their first lead of the series, and they kept hacking for all five innings against Twins starter Chris Paddack (3-8).
Paddack, who considers Rea a mentor dating to their time together with San Diego for his advice on recovery from Tommy John elbow surgery, gave up 11 hits and six runs. He is 1-5 in his last 10 starts, with the Twins winning three.
"Could have maybe been a little bit better," Paddack said. "Some of the things that I've tried to teach our younger staff is we have to make in-game adjustments. I don't think I did that well today."
Key moment
Crow-Armstrong hit a two-out, two-run homer in the third inning, a 414-foot blast that was a few inches too high for center fielder Harrison Bader to catch as he jumped at the wall.
Key stat
Crow-Armstrong led off the seventh against Anthony Misiewicz with a solo shot to tie teammate Seiya Suzuki for sixth in MLB with 25 homers.
Up next
The Twins host Pittsburgh for a three-game series starting Friday, when RH Paul Skenes (4-7, 1.94 ERA) takes the mound for the Pirates opposite RH Joe Ryan (8-4, 2.76 ERA) in a matchup of All-Star starting pitchers.