The Chicago Cubs will look to put the finishing touches on a successful homestand Wednesday afternoon when they play the decisive contest of a three-game series against the visiting Minnesota Twins. Chicago captured three of the four games from the National League Central rival St. Louis Cardinals before avenging a series-opening loss to the Twins with a 7-3 victory on Tuesday. Isaac Paredes homered to highlight his second four-RBI performance of the season, and Dansby Swanson had an RBI triple as part of a three-hit effort for the Cubs. "I feel really good," Paredes said through an interpreter. "Honestly, I was looking for a game like that to gain confidence." Paredes was in need of a confidence boost after being mired in a 3-for-27 rut since he was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays on July 28. "I wanted to do too much," Paredes said. "I wanted to impress my teammates. ... Day by day, I'm preparing myself mentally to give it my best and always give it my 100 percent and for the results to come on their own. "I'm trying to be myself, the same player that I was before I got on this bad streak I was on. ... Today I feel a little bit more calm and the teammates have shown me a lot of support and are pushing me to be myself as a player." Royce Lewis launched a two-run homer and Christian Vazquez also went deep on Tuesday for the Twins, who mustered just three hits as their five-game winning streak ended. A night earlier, the Twins opened the series with a 3-0 victory. "It was the opposite," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of the Tuesday game. "We didn't play good enough fundamentally." The Cubs will turn to Javier Assad (5-3, 3.19 ERA) to start the series finale against Minnesota's Joe Ryan (7-7, 3.59) in a battle of right-handers. Assad tossed 97 pitches and left after four innings in a no-decision against the Cardinals on Friday. He allowed one run on four hits, walked three and struck out three. Assad, 27, will face the Twins for the first time in his career. He is 4-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 14 career interleague appearances (eight starts), however. Ryan snapped a three-start winless drought with a strong performance against the Chicago White Sox on Friday. He permitted two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out seven in 6 1/3 innings during a 10-2 victory. Ryan has been downright consistent by pitching at least five innings in 25 consecutive starts dating back to last season. "I think it's a nice, real step for a Joe Ryan at this point in his career to sit here and say, 'We expect him to go out and pitch like that,'" Baldelli said. "I wouldn't say that unless it was the case. It is the case. He's doing his job and then some right now." Ryan, 28, is 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA in three career starts against the Cubs. He struck out 26 batters in 16 innings during those outings. --Field Level Media
Jul 28, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Javier Assad (72) pitches during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports