Wesneski plans to study right way to miss after Cubs clocked by Twins
MINNEAPOLIS - As soon as Joey Gallo's bat met ball in the third inning, Cubs pitcher Hayden Wesneski appeared to let go with a cry of anguish on the mound.
Gallo lofted a towering 3-run homer to left field. In another era, it might have brought some Purple Rain, but on Saturday it powered the Minnesota Twins to an easy 11-1 win over the Cubs at Target Field.
"When I threw it, I immediately knew I didn't want it there," Wesneski said. "I missed my spot. It was the right pitch called, I threw it and I go, 'Nooo.' And I knew better. I knew what was about to happen, pretty much."
The Twins blasted 5 home runs on the day, with Wesneski giving up four, all to left-handed hitters. DH Alex Kiriloff hit a pair, including an opposite field shot in the first inning. But it was Gallo's monster shot that set the blowout in motion. Kiriloff followed with a rocket to center field, then Jorge Polanco capped a 10-pitch at-bat with a 2-run homer in the fifth.
"(He) Polanco put together a good at-bat," Wesneski said. "He wore me down and again, one pitch away from it being 5 innings, 5 runs and that's where I think the really good ones get out of that. I was filling up the zone, but not with the best pitches. We controlled the ball today, we didn't command it."
Wesneski, who made his 12th major league start Saturday, talked about learning where to miss with certain guys. Against Gallo, he would have rather thrown it over catcher Tucker Barnhart's head than miss low.
"It just felt like overall, execution was a little suspect, relative to where it has been," Barnhart said. "It's just one of those days. A lot of times attacking lineups is execution over stuff and it felt like today we just didn't have our best execution. Against a lineup like that, when you miss spots or they paint you into a bad count, it's not just singles, it's loud, loud contact."
Kiriloff had zero home runs heading into Saturday's action, but started the season on the injured list recovering from wrist surgery. This was the third 2-homer game of his career, including one last year against the White Sox.
Both Eric Hosmer and manager David Ross were ejected in the top of the eighth inning for arguing an inning-ending called strike three against Hosmer with the bases loaded. The pitch was at the top of the zone, but based on replays was the correct call. It was the 11th career ejection for Ross.
"We haven't had many clunkers like that early on we're out of the game," Ross said. "We'll be back at it tomorrow."
The Cubs (19-20) scored their lone run in the seventh when a Barnhart single brought home Christopher Morel. The Cubs had a decent amount of traffic between 6 hits and 7 walks, but had just one extra-base hit, a bloop double by Seiya Suzuki, and left 12 runners on base.
Twins starter Joe Ryan (6-1) struck out 10 in six innings. He stuck with two pitches most of the day, a four-seam fastball that averaged 92.8 miles per hour and a splitter.
"It's a unique arm angle," Barnhart said. "It's a really low slot. In a way, it feels like he's throwing uphill, which is extremely difficult to get your barrel above the ball. You look up at the radar gun and the number doesn't blow you away, but it feels probably feels 4, 5, 6 miles per hour harder at the plate than what the actual velocity says; 94 feels like 100."
Ryan has an interesting history with the Cubs. He made his major league debut against them on Sept. 1, 2021, losing 3-0 at Target Field after giving up a Frank Schwindel 3-run homer.
Three weeks later, he recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. With a 2.16 ERA, Ryan is an early contender for AL Cy Young.
"He's rolling right now," Barnhart said. "He makes it very tough on guys. He's able to command the top of the zone very well and hats off to him, he pitched a heck of a game today."
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