Twins belt Cubs behind 1,240 feet of homers in 8th inning

The Twins drew more than 30,000 fans to Target Field for just the third time this season.

Jul 8, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins designated hitter Ryan Jeffers (27) celebrates his double against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

It looked like another dicy Griffin Jax outing when the first two batters reached against him to start the eighth inning, but Minnesota's standout setup man struck out the next two batters and got out of the jam to preserve a 2-0 lead. Then the Twins' bats woke up and rolled to an 8-1 win over the Chicago Cubs (54-37).

Byron Buxton led off the bottom of the eight with a walk, and one pitch and 420 feet later the Twins (44-47) were up 4-0 thanks to Ryan Jeffers' two-run homer.

It was 5-0 two pitches later when Willi Castro launched a homer (374 feet) over the wall in right field.

Back-to-back boys 😤 pic.twitter.com/ven6cEr1MD

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 9, 2025

After Carlos Correa ripped a double and moved to third on a wild pitch, he scored to make it 6-0 on a hard-hit single by Royce Lewis. Then Harrison Bader got into the act, hammering a 446-foot homer into the second deck in left-center field for an 8-0 lead.

BADER ADDS ON! pic.twitter.com/YYWhREihXk

— Twins.TV (@twinstv) July 9, 2025

It got so bad for the Cubs in the eighth inning that manager Craig Counsel elected to put third baseman Jon Berti in the game to pitch. He gave up one hit and got a couple of fly outs to deep center field to end the inning.

Jeffers finished the game a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

Simeon Woods Richardson gave the Twins the strong start they needed, tossing five shutout innings. The right-hander allowed just two hits and three walks and he needed only 61 pitches to get through five frames.

The Cubs didn't score until veteran Justin Turner hit a pinch-hit homer in the the ninth inning.

The announced attendance at Target Field was 30,384, making it the third game the Twins have drawn at least 30,000 fans this season. The other were Opening Day when 36,783 fans filed into the ballpark, and then a May 25 game when the announced attendance was 32,501.

Up next: Twins vs. Cubs, 6:40 p.m. CT Wednesday.