Harrison Bader hit two home runs, including a walk-off blast to lead off the bottom of the ninth, to lift the Minnesota Twins to a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Bader belted the first pitch he saw in the ninth to clinch the win for the Twins, who scored the final three runs of the game. Byron Buxton doubled and drove in a run for Minnesota.
Josh Lowe and Junior Caminero each went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Tampa Bay. Yandy Diaz doubled and drove in a run.
Twins right-hander Louis Varland (3-3) earned the victory with two scoreless innings of relief. He was one of four pitchers to follow starter Chris Paddack, who allowed two runs on five hits in five innings.
Rays right-hander Kevin Kelly (0-1) gave up one run on one hit in two-thirds of an inning.
Bader broke a scoreless tie with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth. He hammered a sinker for a 412-foot shot into the second deck of the bleachers in left field.
The blast marked Bader’s first homer since June 17.
The Rays rallied with a pair of runs in the sixth to grab a 2-1 lead.
Lowe led off the inning with a single and scored moments later on Diaz’s double to center. Two batters later, Caminero singled to center to drive in Diaz for the go-ahead run.
Tampa Bay increased its lead to 3-1 in the seventh. Lowe poked a single into right field past diving Twins second baseman Willi Castro to drive in Chandler Simpson.
The Twins scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score at 3-all.
Buxton started the rally with a run-scoring double to left. The Rays brought in left-handed reliever Garrett Cleavinger with runners in scoring position and two outs, but he inadvertently plunked Castro to load the bases then hit Brooks Lee with a pitch to bring home the tying run from third base.
–Field Level Media
