Twins 6, Rays 5: Brooks Lee Walk-Off Bunt Gives Rocco Baldelli 500th Career Win

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of © Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Box Score
Cole Sands: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Home Runs: Kody Clemens (10)
Top 3 WPA: Kody Clemens (.264), Jhoan Durán (.242), Willi Castro (.215)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Invigoration can only last so long. As of Saturday, Minnesota’s dramatic 4th of July walk-off was as ancient as the Sumerians. The win could possibly kick-start a streak of quality play, but whether such an outcome comes to fruition rests entirely on the Twins, their gumption, and the bare-hanging threads of the starting rotation. 

For the first time since 2022, Cole Sands started a major league game. His appearance was faux, though; he was just the opener, here to set up Travis Adams as the bulk pitcher. Indeed, Adams entered in the seco—oh wait, that’s Danny Coulombe. Ok, following the veteran lefty, Adams finally arrived on a major-league mound, ready to showcase his stuff at the highest level.

Unfortunately, for the 25-year-old, it seemed that the Rays were intimately aware of his scouting report. They pounced on everything. Fastballs? Tattooed. His menagerie of breakers? Smoked. He didn’t earn his first strikeout until his 18th batter, as Tampa Bay’s batters collected nine hits, three of which went for doubles, and plated at least one run in each inning the Sacramento State product pitched in. The good news is that it’s over: the nerves of a debut will never strike again. Now he’ll just face the usual pressures of everyday modern life and the horrors that come with the burden of knowledge. 

The Twins offense was up for a fight, even if their early returns were tepid. They loaded the bases with no one out against Taj Bradley in the second, but could only plate one run on a cheeky Royce Lewis squibber. Something about that man and full bases creates an unshakable aura. A potential Byron Buxton grand slam fell short at the warning track. 

The bats laid dormant during Tampa’s turn to plate runs; what was an early lead dissipated into a four-run deficit capable of pushing the watcher to forget Minnesota once held the advantage.

The sixth was the turning point. Bradley surrendered two runners. He punched out Matt Wallner to collect the frame’s second out, but Kevin Cash pulled his starter in favor of Kevin Kelly, the reliever who suffered the loss on Friday. Lewis drilled his second pitch to center for the third baseman’s second RBI of the game. A pulse. Then, with two on and a chance to tie the game, Kody Clemens saw a middle-middle fastball and drove the pitch deep out to left field, carrying, carrying, carrying, until it safely fell into the bleachers. As unlikely as odds once looked, the Twins had knotted the game. 

The seventh and eighth innings came and went with occasional drama, yet neither squad could find the critical separation needed to pull ahead. Jhoan Durán pitched two clutch innings to give the home team a chance to win in the bottom half of the ninth. Byron Buxton started with a walk. Then Willi Castro slashed a single to right, allowing the speedy center fielder to dash to third with no one out. Finally—with likely no one in the stadium expecting it—Brooks Lee bunted. Yandy Díaz had no choice but to give a half-assed Olé as he watched the ball bound fair over first base. Game over. Twins win. 

Notes:

Jhoan Durán pitched multiple innings for the first time in 2025.

Travis Adam's nine hits allowed ties a Twins record for most in an MLB debut (h/t Aaron Gleeman.)

Adams is also the fourth player selected by the Twins in the 2021 draft to make his MLB debut. The other three did so with other teams (h/t Jamie Cameron.)

Danny Coulombe appeared in his 320th career MLB game. 

Post-Game Interview:

 

 

 

What’s Next?
The Twins and Rays will play again on Sunday, with Joe Ryan set to face off against Drew Rasmussen. First pitch is at 1:10 PM. 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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[Dman]

It wasn't pretty, but Adams did enough for the Twins to win another game against a really good team.  I had the Twins losing this series, but I am going to be wrong.  Gotta say I don't think I have seen a pitcher this snake bit in a while.  He got to two strike counts a lot and Tampa hitters just stuck their bats out on good pitches and managed to make things happen.  He gave up hard contact too, but it's not like he caught a lot of breaks.

I haven't been a real believer in Adams.  The stuff seems pretty average, but he does place it well.  I like him better as a pen arm, but he might prove me wrong.  Today he looked poised and while his WHIP, ERA and K rate all took hits he kept going at guys and in the end it all worked out.  Congrats to him on his debut. Hopefully the  best is yet come.

[D.C Twins]

Clemens definitely has that 'it-factor' gene.... I wonder where he got it?

[SD happy]

Big kudos to Buxton, starting the ninth inning. Down 0-2 and then working a walk. I’m not sure Buxton of previous years would have been able to do that.

[Doctor Gast]

I haven't had much confidence in what we had in AAA pitching. Adams was worse than I expected. As I've said for a long time, we need an inning-eater SP. Pick one up & figure out long relief. 

Give credit to the young guys, Lewis, Clemens & Lewis for getting it done. During our winning streak, we were running & playing small ball. Shortly after Wallner came back & got gunned down at home after Watkins sent him, Twins went back on their old ways of doing things. If we want to keep on winning, we need to go back to small ball. If we don't have enough players to do that we need to bring in those who can.

[RpR]

[Maybebaby]

Still can't believe the Twins pulled off a squeeze play!  Was Rocco out in the hot sun?

[Bracky]

32 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

Clemens definitely has that 'it-factor' gene.... I wonder where he got it?

Similar to my feelings that I hope we hang on to Bader (even in a rebuild), Clemens is another player that I have enjoyed having on the team and wouldn’t mind him staying with us for a bit.

[jmlease1]

Steamy day at the stadium today with some brief showers dropping in.

It was very concerning when the Twins couldn't get more than 1 when the bases were loaded up; there was a fair amount of furor over the umpire refusing the call the balk, which cost the team a run. Started to feel like one of those games where the breaks weren't going to go the Twins way. We get a liner that looks like it's heading to left field and their SS manages to leap up and snare it. Similar play happens and the ball just goes over our fielder's glove. We have a couple of well-hit balls go tot eh warning track; they get an "excuse me" hit that end up going for a double. It was feeling like one of those games...but the Twins didn't quit on it, and Kody Klubbed one to the opposite field.

Lovely play in the 9th. Buck works the walk (BTW, he should have had a hit in the first, not reaching on an error IMHO; that was a rocket and a tough play), Willi slashes a single, and Lee spots the 1B playing way off the line and drops down a lovely bunt. As soon as it got past the pitcher, the only hope was it rolling foul, but Lee placed it perfectly.

Adams...didn't look good. Lot of hard contact. He limited the damage, but did not impress. He did miss some bats, even if he wasn't generating Ks, so maybe he gets another chance. But definitely a lot of loud contact and hard hit balls.

Nice win.

[stringer bell]

Congratulations to Adams in making his MLB debut. I doubt he’ll make a big impact, but he’s now a member of the big league fraternity. He couldn’t stop smiling during the postgame interview  

The losing in this last five weeks as a backdrop, it was hard to see a way for the Twins to claim either of their last two wins, but somehow they prevailed. Kody Clemens has managed to get a lot of big hits and his homer changed the game. 

[CharlieDee]

Love the bunt.

[FlyingFinn]

How many big clutch HR's does Clemens have! I can't remember many happening in blowout games. Unlike what Laudner said in the post game ("Clemens has really been swinging the bat well." Huh!!?), Clemens is struggling overall right now but every hit seems to be a big one. Makes very good plays on defense, too. I like him as one of our bench players.

Brooks Lee didn't give the Twins or minor league system any credit for the bunt - it was the "Larry Lee school of baseball out in the Big West Conference." I do wish the Twins system would teach and practice bunting more (or maybe at all). Lee used great form and kept that bat head above the barrel.

One other nitpick - why didn't Buxton steal today? He had about 13 pitches to steal on. Cost us a double play in the first.

[miller761]

Great 9th inning. Leadoff walk by Buck, Castro trying to hit behind the runner and then Lee with the bunt. Great baseball...more please!

[Mahoning]

We learned today that the Twins have two players, Castro and Lee, who can put down a bunt. Who knew?

And I appreciate today's write-up: the Sumerians are almost entirely neglected in baseball commentary. 

[Vanimal46]

Don’t want to be too critical of a player making his MLB debut… But I didn’t see much from Adams to be hopeful from a stuff and command perspective. 

Kody Clemens has taken his opportunity and ran with it. At 29 years old with no real track record of MLB success, nothing is guaranteed for him. He’s making it work 

[NotAboutWinning]

5 minutes ago, Mahoning said:

...

And I appreciate today's write-up: the Sumerians are almost entirely neglected in baseball commentary. 

Due largely to their lack of play-off success 😉

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

It wasn't pretty, but Adams did enough for the Twins to win another game against a really good team.  I had the Twins losing this series, but I am going to be wrong.  Gotta say I don't think I have seen a pitcher this snake bit in a while.  He got to two strike counts a lot and Tampa hitters just stuck their bats out on good pitches and managed to make things happen.  He gave up hard contact too, but it's not like he caught a lot of breaks.

I haven't been a real believer in Adams.  The stuff seems pretty average, but he does place it well.  I like him better as a pen arm, but he might prove me wrong.  Today he looked poised and while his WHIP, ERA and K rate all took hits he kept going at guys and in the end it all worked out.  Congrats to him on his debut. Hopefully the  best is yet come.

Do not want to bad mouth the new kid but I don’t think I saw average stuff (SWR has average stuff)……not for a starter. To me, he looked like a more energetic presence that would get Joey Wentz’ innings in the near term. Slider/cutter too often looked like a slower fastball……not much movement. He shows guts/resilience/energy but the talent didn’t appear to be there IMO. 4 innings & 5 earned is not a positive debut. Need Matthews back in couple weeks &/or Ober. Can’t see Adams in more than one more start……”long guy” role. All-star break has never been more needed!

5-2 over remaining games up to the Break gets Team to .500 ………🤞

[JD-TWINS]

6 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Don’t want to be too critical of a player making his MLB debut… But I didn’t see much from Adams to be hopeful from a stuff and command perspective. 

Kody Clemens has taken his opportunity and ran with it. At 29 years old with no real track record of MLB success, nothing is guaranteed for him. He’s making it work 

6 for 44 with 4 HR in those 6 hits………I saw the Bomb to Right in Cincinnati in person and last two I’ve seen have been to left field, one in power alley and today’s LF drive………….10 HR since joining TWINS.

29 years old.

376 AB’s before joining Twins - 15 HR

128 AB’s with Twins - 10 HR …….he’s found something here! 🤞

[Dman]

54 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

How many big clutch HR's does Clemens have! I can't remember many happening in blowout games. Unlike what Laudner said in the post game ("Clemens has really been swinging the bat well." Huh!!?), Clemens is struggling overall right now but every hit seems to be a big one. Makes very good plays on defense, too. I like him as one of our bench players.

It depends on how far back you want to go.  The last seven games it looks like an 1.100 OPS which brings his last 15 games OPS up to .758.  Yeah if you go back the last 30 even with his one week hot streak he has a .620 OPS.  He had been slumping for a while, but it looks like he is back.

You know I always give the Twins crap about those AAAA type pickups, but his impact on this team has made a world of difference.  Not like this team is elite or anything, but his clutch homers are something this generally anemic offense can't manage.  It takes the whole team to win but his impact has been outsized for such a marginal player. As an example his offense has been far more impactful than Correa's who is supposed to be an All Star type player.

 

[Linus]

We kind of stole that one. I thought that when Jeffers double clutched and threw the ball into right center it was the critical mistake that costs you a close game but they battled back. Nobody wants to be critical of a guy making his big league debut and hopefully some of today was jitters. But let’s be honest - that was was batting practice out there.  I’m afraid that is not big league stuff. 

[Blyleven2011]

2 hours ago, RpR said:

Wallners back below the Mendoza line ... sorry but his batting is starting to remind me of Joey Gallo , Gallo at least was a better defender  ...

Wallner is not showing the value he once did ...

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Offer Larry Lee the Twins' bench coaching position, so we can see the Twins play more "West Coast Baseball". The bunt was a thing of beauty. Did Rocco call it, or did Lee do this bunt on his own? It was the right call with Buck at 3rd and no outs. Lee's execution of the bunt was flawless. 

[Blyleven2011]

IBecause of the July fourth weekend festivities I wasn't able to watch the game  ...

Checked the box score and read the last couple of pages on the game thread ...

Another walk off win is exciting  , if we win one tomorrow it's called a winning streak  ...

Has the season just started yesterday  , Rocco has played small ball the past couple of games , is he going to continue doing so , with speedy buxton on third and surprising everyone he has Lee lay down a bunt and Buxton scores the walk off winning run ...

Clemens homeruns have been game changing compared to alot of our guys just hitting solo homeruns , would be nice if he could get his average back up , his run of taking the opportunity might be running out with keaschall coming back soon , I like what he has done for the Twins,  some clutch hitting and defense has be solid ...

It's a team effort and everyone needs to do it's share when the bigger bats fail , Clemens and Lee were the heros today , Duran going 2 innings could also be added , but Rocco don't do that to often , but if you do it only increases his trade value that Duran can go more than1 inning ...

As far as the rookie Adam's pitching  , I'll have to take everyone's word that it was average at best , maybe his second start will be better without the debut jitters ...

[HarmonK03]

This was a great win by the Twins, an exciting game, it was good to play some small ball in the 9th inning.

As far as Adams I thought it was an uneven debut, but would like to see him get some run and find out what he has.  The Twins are not developing any starters in the minor leagues right now, they are all just bulk guys.  They are all going 3 to 5 innings and typically topping out at 70 pitches at the most.  How can you expect to have anyone ready to start if needed.  This seems to fall in line with what Zoll said a few weeks ago of what they are trying to do in the minor leagues.  But will shorter stints and fewer days between appearances translate to the major leagues.

I am not sure why there are people down on Wallner, yes he has not looked good since coming back from injury.  But he has only 644 AB's with an .836 OPS and 37 HR's and 102 RBI's.  Have patience and let him play.  Other teams have played their younger players and let them work thru their struggles, see Chourio of Milwaukee and Merrill of SD last year.

I think Lewis, Lee, Wallner and Larnach need to be in the lineup every day regardless of who is pitching.  We need to find out if they are going to be contributors to a winning team and if not either move on to the next crop of young players or bring in impact players not one year stopgaps.  You are not going to be a consistent winner with Bader, Castro and Clemens/France all in your lineup on a regular basis.  They are role players and can be successful if kept in their roles, but not as everyday players.  This team needs to develop regular players and not turn everyone into a role player.  

[Western SD Fan]

I watched both the game and the post-game interview of Adams, and it definitely looks like he will need some more seasoning in St. Paul.  In his post-game interview, he still looked like he was shaking so much that hopefully those jitters will go away with another bulk appearance.  I'm going to hold judgement until I see him pitch against a weaker lineup in Pittsburgh on Friday night as that appears to be the next opportunity for him.  A couple of those hits were just bad ball hits out of the zone and those you need to tip your hat to the batter.  The one bright spot is that he didn't immolate on the mound when it started going pear shaped and was able to gut out of every inning.  Unfortunately, his 66 pitches are right at the maximum they have him pitching in AAA so if you're expecting any stretch out beyond 4 innings, you'll be sadly disappointed.

I honestly think Adams will be a placeholder to get by until the All-Star Break.  I could see them swapping Raya for Adams if it looks like they need a pitcher after the break provided Ober or Matthews isn't magically coming back.  Heck, if they go crazy and get to .500 before the break, there may be hope they could even be looking to add at the deadline.  Six of their first nine games out of the break are against the Rockies and Nationals so there could be hope (possible false hope 🤪)

 

Edited July 6, 2025 by Western SD Fan
Added last paragraph

[DocBauer]

I got to watch part of the game and need to compartmentalize my comments:

1] Adams wasn't exactly great. I was encouraged by his FB sitting around 94. That's not where he was when drafted. I still think the tag play at 1B was an out. That didn't help. The number of hits was bad, and so were the 5 runs. But for a kid making his ML debut and being asking to eat innings for the team, it could have been worse. 

I think there's enough to work with there to be a solid middle man, but we'll see.

2] I don't know that Clemens is ever going to be much of a "hitter", but damned if he doesn't have some power that makes a difference once in a while. I haven't seen anything to say he isn't at least decent at multiple positions. I could see him as part of the 2026 team if he doesn't suddenly regress.

3] Rocco has played a lot more "small ball" last year and this year. I wish he would do more. Tell me it's not going to be hard to say goodbye to Castro if traded or not re-signed?

4] Tip of the cap for the lineup to not give up, despite losing out on other opportunities yet again.

5] The loss of Lopez and the injury to Ober have really derailed the staff. And I'm not trying to blow smoke...but...I've been encouraged by SWR looking better. And I've been encouraged by Festa's last couple of starts as well. Allowing 4 early runs is not conducive to winning with a struggling offense. But he didn't melt down. 5 hits in 6 IP with only 1 BB and 7 K's are good, underlying numbers.

We're still in trouble for the 5th spot for sure. And the offense is still the biggest problem even with 2 wins in a row. Hopefully Matthews is back soon to help fill in. But I'm just not as down on the young arms as some.

Go Ryan! Let's make it a sweep Sunday!

[arby58]

3 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

If we want to keep on winning, we need to go back to small ball. If we don't have enough players to do that we need to bring in those who can.

Clemens' three run HR was small ball?

[arby58]

3 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Congratulations to Adams in making his MLB debut. I doubt he’ll make a big impact, but he’s now a member of the big league fraternity. He couldn’t stop smiling during the postgame interview  

The losing in this last five weeks as a backdrop, it was hard to see a way for the Twins to claim either of their last two wins, but somehow they prevailed. Kody Clemens has managed to get a lot of big hits and his homer changed the game. 

Yeah, not exactly small ball there. Clemens, for 10 HRs, has been impactful with almost all of them.

[Fatbat]

31 minutes ago, arby58 said:

Clemens' three run HR was small ball?

Yeah, it wasn’t a solo home run in garbage time.  He kept his head down and drove the ball oppo taco.  Then we won on a squeeze bunt. Every bit of that is small ball.

[jimbo92107]

I'm liking Brooks Lee more and more. Baseball is in his blood. Perfect bunt to win a game, and his hitting is becoming more solid all the time.