Cubs' Nico Hoerner aims for strong finish to series vs. Twins

In search of their third consecutive series win, the Chicago Cubs finish up a three-game interleague set with the visiting Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon.

Winners in six of their last nine games, including a 6-2 victory on Saturday, the Cubs are doing everything they can to try and keep pace with the Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee holds a six-game lead over second-place Chicago in the National League Central race.

"We've got a lot of baseball ahead of us and that means everybody is going to have to contribute," said Cubs manager Craig Counsell, whose team will have just one day off until Aug. 10.

The first two days of the unofficial start to the second half of the regular season have been steps in the right direction for struggling second baseman Nico Hoerner. After a 5-for-36 start to July at the plate, Hoerner has posted six hits in the series, including a four-hit effort on Saturday.

"(Hoerner) had a great day and it's good to see," Counsell said. "It was coming and it was a good time to get it."

On the mound, Shota Imanaga (5-8, 4.17 ERA) will start for Chicago, searching for his first win at Wrigley Field since May 7. Last time out, the left-hander went five innings, allowing just one run on seven hits, while striking out five and walking one in a 4-0 road loss against the Cincinnati Reds on July 10.

Despite taking consecutive losses in a pair of July starts, Imanaga has shown signs of improvement, sporting a 2.79 ERA in the two outings. The challenge for Imanaga will be to pitch deeper into the game after firing 102 pitches over five frames in his last start.

"Shota pitched very well, but throwing 100-plus pitches over five innings, while giving up one run, that's almost hard to do," Counsell said. "(Cincinnati) made it tough on him to get a quick inning and that obviously limited his length."

Imanaga is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA in two career starts against the Twins.

Minnesota squandered an opportunity to gain ground in the American League Central on Saturday after both the White Sox and Guardians lost. Chicago and Cleveland are tied, with the Twins three games back.

A bright spot for manager Derek Shelton's team was a two-home run performance by Kody Clemens, who was hitless in his last 19 at-bats before Saturday.

"Going into the All-Star break, it looked like (Clemens) had worn down a little bit," Shelton said. "But to be able to come out and have two good swings, I think was very encouraging."

Minnesota will start Zebby Matthews (4-6, 4.57 ERA) in the series finale.

Matthews, 26, has struggled mightily away from home, sporting a 6.17 ERA in six road starts. On July 10, the third-year right-hander tossed six innings of four-run, nine-hit ball, striking out three and walking two in a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

Making the 37th start of his career, and 12th since being called up from Triple-A St. Paul on May 14, Matthews will face the Cubs for the first time in his career.

-Field Level Media