MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins continue to show that you should never count them out of a game. As a result, it seems that anybody writing them off in the playoff chase may have been premature as well.
Brooks Lee laid down a perfect game-ending squeeze bunt, Jhoan Duran came up huge in his longest outing of the year, Kody Clemens hit yet another clutch home run and the Twins roared back to beat the Rays, 6-5, at Target Field on Saturday. It was the second straight day that Minnesota came from behind to stun Tampa Bay.
The win was the 500th of Rocco Baldelli’s managerial career, and it was fitting that he got a milestone win, because he pulled all kinds of levers in guiding Minnesota to victory. In addition to stretching out Duran and calling for the bunt, Baldelli and his coaching staff used two innings worth of openers before coaxing four innings out of rookie Travis Adams. The Twins have won four straight home games and six of 10 overall after a lengthy slump.
“It was a great day and I really don’t think about accolades,” said Baldelli. “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. 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.”
While Lee had the game-ending hit, Duran may have been the hero of the day. The closer gutted out two difficult innings on a bullpen day, his first time getting more than three outs in a game since Sept. 26, 2024. Duran worked around a two-out double in the eighth and a man on third with one out in the ninth to keep the game tied.
As for the game-ender, it was a team effort. Byron Buxton drew a leadoff walk in the ninth against Garrett Cleavinger, and Willi Castro followed with a single to right. That brought up Lee, who placed his bunt up the first base line beautifully to end the game.
“It's great just being in the moment in that opportunity, no matter what happens,” said Lee, who had never successfully sacrificed in professional or college baseball, and estimated he’d only attempted one previous bunt in pro ball.
“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."
It made a winner of Duran, who was the fifth pitcher to appear for Minnesota in a wild game. Cole Sands turned in a strong inning as an opener, and Danny Coulombe followed with a 1-2-3 as well. Adams, making his Major League debut, found the going rough but endured four innings.
Adams left the game trailing, 5-1, and his teammates immediately got him off the hook. Royce Lewis drilled an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, and Clemens followed with his career-high-extending 10th homer of the year to tie the game.
Baldelli turned to his usual eighth-inning man, Griffin Jax, for the seventh, and then to Duran for the eighth. Duran allowed a two-out double to Jake Mangum but struck out Taylor Walls before facing another threat in the ninth.
After a groundout, Danny Jansen singled off shortstop Carlos Correa’s glove. Pinch-runner Jose Caballero stole second and took third on a throwing error, putting the go-ahead run 90 feet away with one out. Duran locked down.
He fanned the very dangerous Yandy Díaz, walked Brandon Lowe and got Junior Caminero to fly out to end the threat.
“It's hard to throw two innings,” said Duran, “but if I need to throw it to help the team win, I'll do it. I feel good.”
The Twins have won four in a row at home after losing their previous six games at Target Field. They’re 24-17 at home on the year, with seven more home games coming up before the All-Star break.