Minnesota Twins at Chicago Cubs

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
MIN	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	8	1
CHC	2	1	4	3	0	0	0	0	—	10	12	1

Sunday's rubber match at Wrigley came down to the arms on paper: Imanaga (5-8, 3.98 ERA) took the ball for Chicago against Matthews (4-6, 5.40 ERA), with the series knotted at a game apiece after Minnesota grabbed the opener before Chicago answered right back. First pitch went off at 1:20 PM CT with the finale up for grabs.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Twins(49-50)

LWWWL

1

+1.5-138+156o8.5+138

Cubs(55-43)

WLWWL

10

-1.5+133-160u8.5-135

Best BetCubs -170

Postgame

Cubs won 10-1 outright — Hoerner and the offense delivered exactly as the pick needed.

Pregame

We took the Cubs at -163 to win outright, and Imanaga at Wrigley with Hoerner locked in at the plate was the easy lean over a Twins rotation missing multiple starters. Chicago's the deeper, healthier club right now and the price reflected a real gap, not just home-field noise.

Imanaga wasn't especially sharp in his last time out against Cincinnati — 5 innings, 1 earned run, but a loss nonetheless — while Matthews has been getting hurt by two-strike sliders left over the plate all season. Minnesota's rotation is already stretched thin with Pablo Lopez and David Festa both on the 60-day IL, and Chicago is without Jameson Taillon and Justin Steele too, so neither staff walked in at full strength.

Zebby Matthews

(4-8)·5.22 ERA

Jul 10 vs Angels

L

6.0IP

4ER

3K

2BB

102P

07/19 Lineup

Shota Imanaga

(7-9)·3.67 ERA

Jul 10 @ Reds

L

5.0IP

1ER

5K

1BB

102P

07/19 Lineup

None of that ended up mattering once Chicago got rolling. The Cubs strung together runs in four straight innings and never let the Twins offense settle in, turning what was supposed to be a competitive series finale into a laugher.

Nico Hoerner was the story of the weekend, riding a 12-game hitting streak into Sunday and batting .380 during the run — exactly the kind of production that's carried Chicago through a stretch where the lineup has clicked from top to bottom. Minnesota, meanwhile, is trying to piece together offense without Byron Buxton, who landed on the 10-day IL with a hip issue last week.

Minnesota Twins

(49-50)

Jul 18L@ Cubs2-6

Jul 18W@ Cubs5-2

Jul 12Wvs Angels4-2

Jul 11Wvs Angels5-3

Jul 11Lvs Angels3-4

Chicago Cubs

(55-43)

Jul 18Wvs Twins6-2

Jul 18Lvs Twins2-5

Jul 12W@ Reds8-4

Jul 11W@ Reds5-3

Jul 10L@ Reds0-4

The recent form tells the story here: Chicago won two of three in the series after dropping the opener, while Minnesota has bounced between wins and losses most of July without ever stringing together real momentum. Layer in the injury gap — Chicago's absences skew bullpen arms and a corner outfielder, Minnesota's include a former top-of-rotation starter and two more starting pitchers on the shelf — and it's easy to see which roster was built to absorb a rough afternoon.

Minnesota Twins

(9)

• 10-Day-ILByron Buxton (CF) — The Twins placed Buxton (hip) on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com reports.07/07
• 15-Day-ILAnthony Banda (RP) — Banda underwent surgery to repair his left lat strain and will miss the remainder of the 2026 season, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.07/09
• 15-Day-ILConnor Prielipp (SP) — Prielipp did not factor into the decision Wednesday against the Twins, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out six.07/09
• 15-Day-ILMarco Raya (RP) — The Twins placed Raya on the 15-day injured list Wednesday due to a right shoulder impingement.07/08
• 15-Day-ILCole Sands (RP) — Sands (forearm) tossed a perfect inning in his rehab appearance with Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday.07/08
• 60-Day-ILGarrett Acton (RP) — Acton (shoulder) struck out a batter and allowed three earned runs on one hit and three walks over two-thirds of an inning in a rehab appearance Tuesday in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.07/15
• 60-Day-ILMick Abel (SP) — Abel (elbow) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Friday.07/14
• 60-Day-ILDavid Festa (SP) — The Twins announced June 1 that Festa (shoulder) has started a throwing progression, MLB.com reports.06/11
• 60-Day-ILPablo Lopez (SP) — The Twins placed Lopez (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.05/08

Chicago Cubs

(14)

• 10-Day-ILMatt Shaw (RF) — Shaw is still feeling discomfort related to his left hand sprain and has yet to resume swinging a bat, Vinnie Duber of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILEthan Roberts (RP) — Cubs manager Craig Counsell said July 8 that Roberts (forearm) completed a bullpen session, MLB.com reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILDaniel Palencia (RP) — Manager Craig Counsell said Friday that Palencia (elbow) is hopeful to return to the Cubs' bullpen in mid-August, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILEdward Cabrera (SP) — Manager Craig Counsell said Friday that the Cubs expect Cabrera (hamstring) to return from the injured list in the second week of August, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILHoby Milner (RP) — Manager Craig Counsell said Friday that Milner (abdomen) will likely return from the injured list sometime around Aug. 1, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILJameson Taillon (SP) — Manager Craig Counsell said Friday that Taillon (hamstring) will return from the injured list during the Cubs' upcoming series against the Tigers, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILBen Brown (RP) — Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Thursday that Brown has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his neck and will have limited activity for the next month, 104.3 The Score reports.06/25
• 15-Day-ILRiley Martin (RP) — The Cubs announced June 10 that Martin (elbow) has resumed playing catch, MLB.com reports.06/22
• 60-Day-ILJustin Steele (SP) — Steele (elbow) was cleared to begin ramping up his throwing program Tuesday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.07/08
• 60-Day-ILHunter Harvey (RP) — The Cubs moved Harvey (triceps) from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL on Sunday.05/17
• 60-Day-ILPorter Hodge (RP) — The Cubs transferred Hodge (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Friday, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILShelby Miller (RP) — The Cubs placed Miller (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Sunday.05/08
• 60-Day-ILCade Horton (SP) — The Cubs transferred Horton (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Saturday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILTyler Austin (1B) — The Cubs placed Austin (knee) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08