Benintendi's Sixth-Inning Homer Sinks Minnesota, 3-2

Andrew Benintendi went 3-for-4 with a home run, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored to carry Chicago past Minnesota 3-2 on Saturday. The story of the night was one man dismantling a game that Minnesota had every reason to win.

The first inning set the tone for how chaotic this one would get. Benintendi singled to right to score Antonacci and put Chicago up 1-0, but Minnesota answered immediately — Bell's sacrifice fly scored Keaschall to tie it, and in the second, Jenkins grounded into a fielder's choice that plated Culpepper, giving the Twins a 2-1 lead. Minnesota looked in control, and with Bailey Ober dealing — 5.0 innings, just 2 hits, 1 earned run, 5 strikeouts — that lead felt sturdier than the score suggested.

Then Minnesota's shortstop Culpepper handed Chicago a lifeline in the fourth. A fielding error left Meidroth safe at first and allowed Benintendi to score, knotting the game at 2-2. It was the kind of miscue that looks small in the moment and enormous in the final line. Erick Fedde had done enough for Chicago — 5.0 innings, 3 hits, 2 earned runs, 4 strikeouts — and Sean Newcomb took over and was flat-out dominant: 3.0 innings, 2 hits, zero earned runs, zero walks, 3 strikeouts. Newcomb's clean work kept Chicago alive long enough for Benintendi to do what Benintendi does.

The decisive blow came in the sixth. Benintendi drove a 381-foot home run to right center, and just like that, the win probability swung from 53% in Minnesota's favor to 37% — a 16-point shift on a single swing. That's the ballgame. Minnesota's Andrew Morris worked 2.0 innings of relief and allowed 1 earned run on 1 hit, but the damage was already done. The Twins got contributions across the lineup — Keaschall, Bell, Jenkins, Caratini, and Lewis each had a hit — but they couldn't manufacture a response in the final frames. Benintendi finishing 3-for-4 against a Minnesota staff that held Chicago to a modest hit total looks, frankly, like a one-man wrecking job. Chicago steals one on the road.