Twins begin Saturday with a reliever starting, and that isn’t even the peculiar part

Saturday’s Twins pitching mystery was solved when Cole Sands came out of the bullpen to start and pitch one inning before Danny Coulombe and recently promoted Travis Adams continued a progression of pitchers.

Ultimately, the Twins used five pitchers during their come-from-behind victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on a day when they had listed TBA as the starter. Three went an inning each, another pitched a rare second inning, and Adams threw for the first time in the majors.

“We’re going to start Cole Sands, and that’s all we know,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said when he announced the pitching plan a little more than two hours before Saturday’s first pitch at Target Field. “That’s the way we’re going to approach it. There’s a lot of different directions we can go in this game. We have a bullpen day going today, and that’s the way we’re going to approach it.”

Coulombe followed Sands’ 19-pitch scoreless inning with a scoreless one of his own before Adams made his major league debut by throwing the next four innings. He gave way to Griffin Jax and another scoreless inning. Jhoan Duran finished up with two scoreless innings, his first time pitching beyond an inning this season, and got the win when Brooks Lee bunted in Byron Buxton for a 6-5 victory.

Adams recorded his first major league out by getting shortstop Taylor Walls to ground weakly to first baseman Kody Clemens, who flipped the ball to Adams for the out at first.

“It was basically a dream come true getting that first out,” Adams said, “especially the first batter. All the hard work I’ve done throughout my life, all the practices, late-night drives back home, it definitely felt like it paid off.”

Thereafter, he gave up five runs, at least one in each inning he pitched, and exited with the Rays ahead 5-1. He gave up nine hits.

Baldelli said using Adams midgame was exactly the plan.

“That’s what he’s been doing [for St. Paul],” he said. “It just made sense to keep him doing some version of what he’s been doing in St. Paul.”

Adams had appeared in 19 games (five starts) at Class AAA St. Paul. He was 3-2 for St. Paul with a 3.68 ERA, striking out 58 and walking 20 over 63⅔ innings.

Sands pitched a third of an inning in Friday’s 4-3 comeback victory, striking out Brandon Lowe on five pitches with two men on in the seventh inning. That left him ready to make Saturday’s start.

“As a whole, you look at it: The bullpen day and the performances that our guys gave us doing something they don’t do every day, it was really good,” Baldelli said.

Twins left fielder Harrison Bader was back in the lineup Saturday, playing left field and batting ninth.

He did so after being mobbed by teammates with an ice water dousing when he hit a walk-off, first-pitch homer in Friday’s series opener.

“Our guys admire him in a lot of ways,” Baldelli said. “I think they feel the passion in everything that he does. That includes the work he puts in. That includes his successes. That includes how he plays the game. … He pays attention to the game, and that includes when things aren’t going his way.

“It was a great moment and a great thing to see everybody celebrate together after he got it done.”

Storm clouds and a normal 1:10 p.m. start time delayed by rain set the scene at Target Field on Saturday after glaring sun, gusting winds and searing heat vexed players from both teams during Friday’s game, a rare 3:10 p.m. start.

“This is not a Target Field thing,” Baldelli said. “It’s Fenway Park in Boston, which is a mess sometimes, usually around certain times near game time or soon after. It’s very, very difficult. In Colorado, the first inning or two the pitcher can’t pick off and the first baseman cannot see the third baseman.

“There are game-time situations when hitters can’t see the ball. It’s just that part of the game you have to deal with.”

Randy Dobnak gave up two hits in five innings, starting the St. Paul Saints toward a 3-1 victory Saturday over the Gwinnett Stripers in Lawrenceville, Ga.