With offense clicking, Twins open series vs. Cubs

A pair of confident teams meet at Wrigley Field for the first of three games on Monday, as the Chicago Cubs host the Minnesota Twins in interleague play.

On the heels of a four-game winning streak and a three-game sweep of the lowly Chicago White Sox, the Twins bring a red-hot offense into play on Monday. Minnesota is averaging 9.25 runs per game during its win streak, and most recently saw its lineup erupt in a 13-7 win.

With the Twins having to use six pitchers, the offense bailed out its staff. Willi Castro and Jose Miranda each tallied three hits, while Royce Lewis knocked in three runs.

"Obviously, any time you can sweep a team it feels great," Miranda said. "This upcoming series is important. We know the type of team the (Cubs) are. We're just trying to stay focused and play hard every game. We're going to go on the road and try to win another three."

Miranda, who is batting .324 this season, will begrudgingly leave the friendly confines of Target Field, a place where he has 13 RBIs over the past 17 games. Entering play Monday, Minnesota's 544 runs are tied with the Boston Red Sox for the fifth most in the majors.

Prior to the slugfest Sunday, the Twins' pitching staff had allowed just nine runs in four games.

Hoping to save a weary Minnesota bullpen, rookie right-hander David Festa (1-2, 6.98 ERA) takes the mound on Monday. Making his fourth career start, the 24-year-old right-hander is coming off an appearance July 30 against the Mets in which he allowed two runs in five innings.

Festa, who has not faced the Cubs in his career, will look to stymie Chicago, which is doing everything it can to reenter the postseason picture.

Winners in four of five games, the Cubs still sit six games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third National League wild-card spot.

The Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 on Sunday night thanks to Justin Steele's quality start and home runs from Mike Tauchman and Miguel Amaya. The Cubs took three of four from their NL Central rival.

Four teams stand between the Cubs and the final playoff slot, but Chicago can inch closer to playing important October baseball by piling together wins like Sunday's.

"We had to win," Tauchman said. "We've got to play our best baseball. We've got to stack wins and keep winning series. Everybody knows the stakes here. There's not a lot of room for error. We believe that we have the right people in here to rattle off some wins. The results have to show in the next eight weeks."

Kyle Hendricks (3-9, 6.86) will look to turn around his subpar season Monday.

The 34-year-old Hendricks is coming off a win on Wednesday, when he allowed three earned runs in five innings against the Cincinnati Reds. In three career starts against Minnesota, Hendricks is 1-2 with a 4.34 ERA in 18 2/3 innings.

--Field Level Media