CHICAGO — At times this season Youth Rick Leonard Jersey , the Chicago Cubs have struggled to produce offensively, especially when it comes to situational hitting that turned hits into runs.

But as the Cubs prepare to open a brief two-game series against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday at Wrigley Field, any concerns about run production seems to have subsided. At least for now.

The Cubs will carry a four-game winning streak into Tuesday after producing 46 runs during their winning streak, which they extended with an 11-10 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Although the bullpen struggled to protect leads at times, the Cubs’ bats did more than their fair share. Now, the Cubs will attempt to remain hot against the Tigers, who have won two straight but have lost 11 of their last 13 games.

The Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Monday.

After Sunday’s victory, the Cubs found themselves leading the majors in hitting (.266) and on-base percentage (.345). Despite the times this season when the hits weren’t coming, the Cubs haven’t experienced any change in confidence now that they’re averaging more than 10 per game in their last four games.

“We’ve been the same offense for quite some time now,” Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber said Sunday, according to the Chicago Tribune. “Things happen. We’re just going to keep this going.”

Cubs pitchers have enjoyed plenty of run support of late, which is something Tuesday’s starter, Kyle Hendricks, wouldn’t mind seeing continue against the Tigers. Hendricks (5-8 Authentic Aaron Rodgers Jersey , 4.21 ERA) has experienced inconsistency this season and has battled his mechanics all the way through.

Hendricks went 1-4 in June and is coming off an outing in which he allowed a season-worst six runs in just 2 2/3 innings on June 27 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He hopes to right the ship in a new month against a team that has struggled offensively during their recent skid. Hendricks will face the Tigers for the first time in his career.

“I’m just searching right now — it’s just bad,” Hendricks told reporters after his last start, according to the team’s official website. “Mechanics, I’m trying to focus mentally and going pitch to pitch and I’m doing that, but something’s just off. I’m searching now.”

The Tigers’ back-to-back victories come after their losing streak reached a season-high 11 games. With Miguel Cabrera out for the season and other veterans like Victor Martinez struggling at the plate, manager Ron Gardenhire has been forced to work with a lineup full of young hitters.

Before snapping the skid with a victory Sunday over the Blue Jays, the Tigers finished June hitting .222.

“We’ve had a lot of struggles offensively, for sure,” Gardenhire said Sunday, according to the Detroit Free Press. “I think our pitching has held up OK. (The) bullpen had its good and bad moments. Offensively, we’ve really scuffled, especially the past couple week here. We all know that. Offensively, we have to get a lot better. More consistently.”

On Monday, the Tigers placed closer Shane Greene on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain. Joe Jimenez Youth Weston Richburg Jersey , who is considered the Tigers’ closer of the future, will move into the role for the time being, Gardenhire said. Jiménez has a 2.77 ERA, 44 strikeouts and nine walks in 42 appearances covering 39 innings.

Michael Fulmer (3-7, 4.20) will start Tuesday for the Tigers. Like Hendricks, Fulmer struggled in June, losing three of his five starts with a no-decision. Fulmer will face the Cubs for the first time in his career.

The Minnesota Twins signed first-round draft pick Trevor Larnach just one day before Major League Baseball’s deadline.

For both sides, the delay was well worth the wait. There were no contentious contract negotiations in the way, only a College World Series championship for Larnach with Oregon State.

”We figured it would go to the end, because I thought Oregon State was the best team I saw all spring,” Twins scouting director Sean Johnson said. ”They were really built to win that series, so we knew it would take a while.”

Larnach’s standard minor league deal, signed on Thursday afternoon, came with a $2.55 million signing bonus. The slot value set by MLB for the 20th overall selection was $3.12 million Youth Cassius Marsh Jersey , so the Twins put some of that savings toward signing other players in their draft class.

Larnach, a corner outfielder who hit .327 with 17 home runs and 65 RBIs this season for the Beavers, batted .417 with five doubles, nine RBIs and 10 runs scored in eight games at the College World Series. His two-run homer in the ninth inning against Arkansas helped Oregon State stave off elimination in the second game of the finals , and the Beavers went on to win the decisive third game the following night.

”I would say it’s probably the closest thing you are going to get to playing here in the big leagues,” Larnach said as he toured Target Field for the first time before the Twins played Baltimore on Thursday night. ”There are a lot of people at every game. You start playing some SEC teams, and you start hearing them pretty well. It’s all part of it. It’s a wonderful experience, and I wish I could re-live some of it, but you know there are better times ahead.”

The Twins said the 21-year-old Larnach will report to rookie-level Elizabethton of the Appalachian League.

”It’s good to have him in the fold,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. ”I told him to enjoy the experience. I couldn’t really relate to him what it was like to sign at this particular point in my life because it was 40-some years ago, but it was nice for him and his parents to come in and have a chance to talk with them.”

Johnson was on a scouting trip in North Carolina, dining at The Cheesecake Factory restaurant with Twins vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff, when they saw Larnach’s dramatic home run. They weren’t exactly sweating the timing of the signing.

”Twenty seconds before he hit the home run, I’m like Womens Aaron Rodgers Jersey , `If he hits a home run here to give them the lead, we can wait another day,”’ Johnson recalled. ”Right on cue, he hit it. That was the first time I celebrated in a Cheesecake Factory. That was pretty cool. That was a fun moment to watch.”

For Larnach, too, of course.

”My experience at Oregon State, man, it’s pretty unbelievable. I can’t put that into words,” he said. ”I can’t thank my family at Oregon State enough for what they’ve done for me. I’m always going to come back to them and say hi and give them my love and just give back to them as much as I can, because they’ve developed me not only as ballplayer but as a person, and that’s what they promised when I got there.”

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