The Minnesota Twins flexed at the plate, smashing five home runs in an 11-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Target Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Twins’ onslaught was led by Alex Kirilloff, who smashed a pair of home runs including a solo homer that put Minnesota on the board in the first inning. After Joey Gallo broke Statcast with a three-run homer in the third, Kirilloff hit his second homer of the game to give the Twins a 5-0 lead.
𝘽𝘼𝘾𝙆-𝙏𝙊-𝘽𝘼𝘾𝙆!
Second homer of the day for Kirilloff! #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/ohNiMxVt2B— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) May 13, 2023
Jorge Polanco added to the lead with a two-run homer in the fifth inning before Tucker Barnhart cut into the lead with an RBI single in the top of the seventh. With the Twins maintaining a big advantage, Carlos Correa was the latest to don the fishing vest, smacking his sixth home run of the year to go up 8-1.
Vibes immaculate. 😎😎 pic.twitter.com/UF8mr5054z
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) May 13, 2023
The Twins added three more runs in the top of the ninth with Gallo driving in a run on a double and Correa delivering a two-run double to cap the scoring.
Kirilloff finished the game going 3-for-3 with two homers, a double and two RBI and Gallo went 2-for-4 with a homer, a double and 4 RBI. Correa went 2-for-5 with a double, homer and 3 RBI while Ryan Jeffers went 2-for-2 with a walk. Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro also had one single each.
The run support was just fine for Joe Ryan, who turned in a dominant performance on the mound. The right-hander allowed one run over six innings while striking out 10 batters to improve to 6-1 on the season and helped the Twins even the series with the Cubs.
The Twins improved to 22-18 on the season and will host the Cubs in the rubber game when Louie Varland (0-0, 4.32 ERA) takes the mound against Marcus Stroman (2-3, 2.28 ERA).
