Frank Schwindel homered for the second straight game, Ian Happ added a towering homer into the third deck, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Minnesota Twins 3-1 on Tuesday night.
Manuel Rodriguez (3-2) earned the win for Chicago, working two scoreless innings in relief of starter Zach Davies. Rodriguez, Codi Heuer, Adam Morgan and Rowan Wick combined for 3 2/3 scoreless innings with Wick earning his first save of the season.
Cubs second baseman Matt Duffy ended a threat for Minnesota in the eighth when he tracked down Max Kepler's pop-up into medium right field, spun and threw Luis Arraez out at the plate trying to score from third.
John Gant (4-9) pitched five innings and allowed two runs on three hits in his third start for the Twins since coming over from the St. Louis Cardinals for J.A. Happ at the trade deadline.
The Twins will have RHP Joe Ryan make his major league debut as the starter on Wednesday as the teams wrap up a two-game series. Ryan, 25, was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in July in the trade that sent Nelson Cruz to the Rays. Chicago will start LHP Justin Steele (2-2, 4.15 ERA). Steele will be making his fourth-straight start after pitching 11 games out of the bullpen.
