Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (5/14/23): Twins 16, Cubs 3 – Mother’s Day Massacre in Minnesota

The Cubs needed to bounce back from an ugly loss on Saturday to win the series against the Twins on a gloomy Mother’s Day at Target Field but that wasn’t in the cards. Unfortunately, Minnesota’s hitters stayed hot and Chicago went down in another lopsided defeat.

Marcus Stroman was shaky from the first batter on Sunday and gave up an RBI double to Carlos Correa in the 1st inning. The wheels completely came off for the Cubs in the 3rd, beginning with a three-run homer from Trevor Larnach. Nick Gordon singled in another run to knock Stroman out of the game.

Michael Rucker took over and was greeted by an RBI base hit from Christian Vázquez. Joey Gallo followed with a mammoth two-run blast and the Cubs were down 8-0. Christopher Morel responded with a long solo shot in the 4th but it was far too little far too late.

Twins starter Louie Varland was sharp and he gave up almost nothing until another solo homer from Seiya Suzuki in the 7th inning. The Cubs were forced to use Miles Mastrobuoni as a pitcher and Minnesota rolled to a 16-3 win. (Box score)

Key Moment

Stroman was an out away from getting through the 3rd inning unscathed, but another mistake in the middle of the plate got pounded by Larnach and he did not escape.

Why the Cubs Lost

For the second consecutive game, the starting pitching blew up and gave the Cubs no chance to win.

Stats That Matter

• Definitely a game to forget for Stroman: 3.2 IP, 6 R, 7 H, 3 K, and 2 BB.
• Matt Mervis had a pair of singles on Sunday.

Bottom Line

There is no way to sugarcoat it: The Cubs were awful this weekend. They have been struggling for the last three weeks and, while they’re better than last year, they are going to have bad stretches like this. The problem is the schedule right now is very difficult and they may be buried by the end of the month. They have to find a way to survive this or it may be time to look forward to 2024.

On Deck

The Cubs head to Houston for a three-game series with the World Series champion Astros starting Monday at 7:10pm CT. Jameson Taillon takes on lefty Framber Valdez with coverage available on Marquee and 670 The Score.