Minneapolis – The Minnesota Twins haven’t won a series since the start of June, when they won three of four against the Athletics. However, they had lost nine straight and tied a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners during their last homestand.
The Twins started their homestand right on Friday with a walk-off victory over the Tampa Bay Rays to win 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth. Harrison Bader hit a home run off the first pitch he saw to lead off the inning. In Saturday’s 6-5 walk-off win, they’d need to change course and win on what the Twins called ‘Big West baseball at its finest.’
Byron Buxton led off the ninth with a walk against Rays reliever Garrett Cleavinger, and Willi Castro followed up with a single to right field to advance Buxton from first to third with nobody out. That set the stage for Brooks Lee, who came into the game as a pinch hitter for Trevor Larnach in the 7th, to show Twins Territory what Big West baseball at its finest looked like.
“I think I was like, ‘Are we bunting?’ and I had to go make sure,” said Lee postgame. “I was comfortable with it. I thought I was going to get it down, and I saw it happen in my mind, and I did.”
The first pitch Lee saw from Cleavinger was a fastball down the middle, which he bunted perfectly down the first base line to score Buxton for the game-winning run. Lee, who has only bunted twice in a game since his college days and got yelled at both times for doing so, was happy to have the results play out differently this time.
“It’s great just being in the moment in that opportunity, no matter what happens,” said Lee. “That just means that we’re getting guys up consistently, we’re passing the baton to be in that situation, it’s not like we’re going down. Buck gets on with a walk, that’s huge. That’s why he’s the catalyst of our lineup, but yeah, it was crazy, and it’s a good feeling.”
“We had some good at-bats today, but let’s not wait around too long,” said Rocco Baldelli after the game. “If Brooks can get the bunt down — and it’s not an easy bunt — but if he can get the bunt down, Buck’s going to be safe. I just simplified it in my mind like that…. It was really well executed and, honestly, a perfect way to end the game.”
As fun as it was for the Twins to get back-to-back walk-off wins, they wouldn’t get the opportunity to do so without Jhoan Durán throwing two scoreless innings to cap off the bullpen game, and a game-tying three-run home run from Kody Clemens in the bottom of the sixth.
Durán was on the mound for back-to-back innings for the first time since September 26, 2024. He knew the Twins might ask him to go more than one on a bullpen day, especially with Brock Stewart throwing 23 pitches and Louie Varland going two full innings in Friday’s game.
“It’s hard to throw two innings,” Durán said. “But if I need to throw it to help the team, I’ll do it. I feel good.”
Durán’s biggest challenge of the afternoon came in the top of the ninth. Rays catcher Danny Jansen (3-for-3 Saturday) reached on a one-out single, and they used José Caballero, the MLB leader in stolen bases with 31, as a pinch runner. Caballero was able to go from first to third with a successful steal of second base, with Durán throwing a wild pitch on the mound.
With Yandy Díaz at the plate, who is 4-for-12 with six RBI when there’s a runner on third this season, it became one of the most critical outs for Durán to get in 2025. He battled back against Díaz, striking him out on a high fastball gunned at 101.1 MPH.
“I didn’t put a strikeout in my mentality,” said Durán. “I know he’s a good hitter. I tried to the best I can and get the out. If he hits a fly ball on the infield, a ground ball on the infield, I’d take it, too.”
Durán walked the next man, Brandon Lowe, on five pitches and set up a precarious situation with runners on the corners for Junior Caminero, Tampa’s home run leader with 21. Durán got Caminero to fly out on a splinker to center field, and that kept the Twins in the game to secure their first series victory.
“It’s a huge effort,” said Baldelli. “We needed it, and we had guys to come in if the game was extended, but getting that out of him and him being willing to do it and him kind of taking on that responsibility means a lot and helps us a lot, so it was great.”
The walk-off victory brought Baldelli’s career wins mark to 500-459. He became the fourth Twins manager ever to reach 500 wins behind Tomy Kelly (1,140), Ron Gardenhire (1,068), and Sam Mele (524). As impressive of a benchmark as it is for Baldelli’s managerial career, the accolades are not the most important stuff for him.
“As a manager and a staff member and a guy that’s there to support the players and get them wherever they need to be, I don’t normally think about it like that,” said Baldelli. “I do appreciate it and the very kind words from a lot of people, but watching the guys play like that, that’s what it’s all about. That’s why people come to the ballpark. You’ve got to give the people what they want, and that is small ball apparently sometimes.”
“That was cool,” said Saturday’s starter Cole Sands, who pitched a perfect first inning for the Twins. “I actually didn’t realize it until they said it, but that’s pretty amazing. Nothing you can take for granted there. That’s pretty awesome.”
Travis Adams makes his MLB debut
After a months-long wait, Travis Adams finally made his MLB debut against the Rays on Saturday. Adams had been called up earlier in the season but never pitched during the Blue Jays series.
Adams entered the game in the third inning for the Twins, went four innings, and allowed five runs on nine hits, no walks, and one strikeout. Read the full story on his MLB debut here.
