Minnesota Twins walk off with another holiday weekend win over the Tampa Bay Rays

On Friday, the Twins beat Tampa Bay on left fielder Harrison Bader’s ninth-inning, walk-off home run that traveled 378 feet into the bleachers.

On Saturday, the ball that produced their seventh walk-off victory this season barely made it 90 feet for a 6-5 victory over the Rays.

Brooks Lee’s safety-squeeze bunt rolled down the first base line, off Tampa Bay first baseman Yandy Diaz’s outstretched glove and over the bag. It scored Byron Buxton from third base for the winning run after Buxton and Willi Castro reached to start the ninth inning.

Doing so comeback-style, Rocco Baldelli earned his 500th victory as Twins manager in a most memorable way. He’s the fourth Twins manager to win 500, after Tom Kelly (1,140), Ron Gardenhire (1,068) and Sam Mele (522).

“I don’t normally think about it like that,” Baldelli said. “I do appreciate the very kind words from a lot of people, but watching the guys play like that, that’s what it’s all about.”

Baldelli made the second game of the three-game series a bullpen day. Cole Sands started and pitched one inning. Danny Coulombe pitched just one, too, before Class AAA St. Paul callup Travis Adams, a 2021 sixth-round draft pick, made his major league debut and gave up five runs in four innings.

“I thought I was going to be more nervous, more adrenaline, but I felt like I was pretty calm for what I was expecting,” Adams said, still smiling 20 minutes after Lee scored. “I had a blast out there.”

With his bullpen stretched, Baldelli then called upon closer Jhoan Duran to pitch two innings, not his usual one, to get him and the Twins the victory.

The Rays had runners on first and third with one out in their ninth, but Duran struck out Diaz and got Junior Caminero to fly out and end the inning.

“It’s hard to throw two innings,” Duran said. “But if I need to throw it to help the team win, I’ll do it. I feel good.”

The Twins led 1-0 after two innings, trailed 5-1 after Tampa Bay’s sixth inning, then scored the game’s final five runs. Included was Kody Clemens’ tying three-run homer in the Twins’ four-run sixth — and then, of course, Lee’s unexpected bunt and second career walk-off hit.

Lee was asked if he did much of that small-ball stuff when he played for Cal Poly in the Big West.

“Practiced it every other day in college,” Lee said. “Never bunted in pro ball — I think one time and I got yelled at. I definitely practiced it enough times to be comfortable, and it showed.”

When he got the bunt call, Lee said, “I was like, ‘Are we bunting?’ I had to go make sure. I was comfortable with it. I thought I was going to get it down. I saw it happen in my mind. And I did it.”

Lee went to the batting cage to lay down some bunts when the Rays were at bat in the eighth, just to be sure. Lee put the bunt down, Diaz muffed it and Buxton scored.

BOXSCORE: Twins 6, Tampa Bay 5

MLB standings

Buxton worked the count to 3-2 as the leadoff batter before he walked to first, then went to third on Willi Castro’s single.

“When Byron Buxton gets on first base, everything changes,” Baldelli said.

On Friday, the Twins beat Tampa Bay 4-3 on Independence Day with a demonstration of walk-off power. On Saturday, in front of 17,679 announced in attendance, they did it with a bold play that secured their first series victory since they won three of four from the Athletics on June 2-5.

“That’s why people come to the ballpark,” Baldelli said. “You’ve got to give the people what they want, and that is small ball sometimes, apparently. That was a great way to end the day.

“It was a pretty awesome day at the ballpark.”