Clicking since meeting in Los Angeles, Cubs’ offense fuels sweep of Twins

It might be only a coincidence, or perhaps it’s something more. Whatever the case, the Cubs’ offense has risen to a new level since hitting coach Chili Davis held a meeting before the team’s game June 26 in Los Angeles.

They needed every run Sunday at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs hung on to beat the Twins 11-10 to sweep the three-game series and extend their winning streak to four. Combined with the Brewers’ loss to the Reds, the result left Cubs a half-game out of first place in the National League Central.

The offense fueled the Cubs again, thanks in part to going 6-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

‘‘We’re not trying to hit home runs,’’ manager Joe Maddon said. ‘‘We’re moving the baseball. We’re hitting it to all fields. We wait for the pitcher to come up to hit the three-run homer — that’s the right thing to do — and then the other guys just move the baseball around.’’

Maddon was alluding to left-hander Jon Lester’s three-run home run against Twins starter Lance Lynn that fueled the Cubs’ eight-run second. Ian Happ added a solo homer in the fifth to give the Cubs at least 10 runs for the fourth consecutive game. The Cubs last accomplished that when they did it in a franchise-record five games in a row in June 1930.

That streak has come since the meeting in Dodger Stadium, which has had some effect and at least makes for a handy line of demarcation.

‘‘One thing Chili brought up to us in L.A. was trying to treat every inning like it’s 0-0 and just keep battling, try to get a run and we’ll see what happens,’’ outfielder Jason Heyward said.

Heyward said that reminder was good to hear.

‘‘Things get sped up,’’ he said. ‘‘The season’s fast, a long road trip, tough schedule. It’s good to slow things down.’’

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Since that gathering with Davis, the Cubs have scored at least nine runs in five of six games as their focus has turned to working at-bats, finding more contact, avoiding strikeouts and maybe not trying to hit homers as much.

The message clearly has gotten through, though the hot and windy conditions and facing a Twins team that has a 4.46 ERA didn’t hurt.

‘‘It’s something we’ve been after for a bit,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘Recently, Chili had that meeting to re-emphasize. Sometimes . . . when the student is ready, the teacher does appear. You say it, you say it, you say it, and finally it hits home. Then all of a sudden it blossoms from there. I really would love that we would never lose this mentality. This is a mentality that’s timeless.’’

Outfielder Kyle Schwarber said the Cubs aren’t ‘‘going out there trying to slug our way.’’

‘‘We’re just going out there trying to make hard contact, and it’s paying off,” he said.

That mentality accounted for 11 runs in the series finale, which appeared to be more than enough to finish the sweep. Instead, it was barely enough.

After opening a 9-1 lead, the Cubs allowed the Twins to score twice each in the fifth and sixth. The Twins then scored five times in the eighth against Dillon Maples, capped by a two-run homer by Mitch Garver, to cut an 11-5 deficit to 11-10.

Helped in part by a sliding catch by Albert Almora Jr. on a sinking liner to center to start the ninth, Brandon Morrow got the last four outs for his 18th save.

‘‘It definitely [was] one of those games,’’ Schwarber said. ‘‘It was one of those series.’’