Twins 4, Mets 3: Aggression at Bat and on the Bases Give Twins Their First Walk-Off Win

Box Score
SP: David Festa 4.1 P, 5 H,0 ER,  BB, 6 K (76 pitches, 51 strikes (67%))
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Cole Sands (.308), Danny Coulombe (.258), Jhoan Duran (.158)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

In his second start of 2025, David Festa got one fewer out than in the first one—but he might have pitched even better.

Festa is up here for Pablo López, who is currently on the 15-day IL, with a hamstring injury. Like all young pitchers who come up to the Show, Festa had to go through some growing pains and adjustment periods last year, and he wasn't initially with the team this year. Only two games in St. Paul, he certainly didn’t have numbers as good as those of counterpart Zebby Matthews, but the team chose a second start in rotation for him over calling up Matthews Wednesday. He’s very well aware that this may not be a full-season engagement, but focused on making the most of each opportunity.

The last time Festa saw Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso was July 30, 2024, and both went hitless against him. He continued to handle those two superstars (plus little old Juan Soto, sandwiched in between) very well, in the first frame.

The Mets did give him a little commotion, top of two, with a line-drive double from Jesse Winker to right field. Brandon Nimmo’s single on pitch one was a fly ball to Harrison Bader, who quickly hurled the ball home from left to get Winker out at home, eliminating the opportunity of the Mets getting on the board.

Festa continued to stay solid, but the Mets' bullpen game was equally effective early. The Twins remained hitless throughout two, getting their first hit in the third: a single from Bader, followed by a bloop ball in the gap in the outfield, by Edouard Julien. Both Bader and Julien saw the opportunities to exploit the Mets defense. Seeing no one at second base, Julien made it to second and Bader landed on third. Both Bader and Juien’s aggression at the bases is nice to see, but a hard-hit fielder’s choice from Byron Buxton to third baseman Brett Baty allowed the Mets to nail Bader at the plate for the second out. A strikeout by Ty France left Julien and Buxton stranded on first and third to end the inning. Another fruitless inning from the offense. 

The Twins' defense has been sharp this season, reining in a lot of the baserunning opportunities from the opposition and helping out the pitching staff. Festa, meanwhile, worked out of some trouble in the fourth inning, keeping the contest scoreless.

Festa came out to pitch the fifth, and got two on the bases with no outs. He struck out Hayden Senger for the first out. That brought the top of the lineup around a third time, though, and when Festa plunked Lindor to load the bases, manager Rocco Baldelli came out to relieve him with lefty Danny Coulombe. A smart decision in this instance, with Soto coming up. Soto hit a chopper to second baseman Julien—who tagged out Lindor then scrambled to first in time to get Soto out to end the inning.  

The Twins offense insisted on continuing to be aggressive in the fifth, with a bloop double from Willi Castro to start the inning—which was challenged by the Mets, due to the close meeting of Castro’s hand and the defender's glove. The call was called safe by the office in New York, giving the Twins a huge advantage to start the inning. Well done, Castro. Big move. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. moved Castro to third, bringing up Bader and prompting a pitching change for the Mets with one on and one out.

Jose Butto gave up a hard line drive to Bader with his second pitch, scoring Castro, getting the Twins on the board. Buxton then doubled, scoring Bader to put up another run on the board. Ty France was the last out of the inning. France has been 0-10 in his last appearances, after what was starting to look like a hot streak for a few games. 

The aggressive baserunning and the Mets' lost challenge earlier gave the Twins an advantage in the sixth inning. Catcher Ryan Jeffers doubled, and Castro then hit a grounder that resulted in a race to the bag between himself and the pitcher, Butto. It was abundantly clear he did not beat Butto there, but it didn’t matter with the lost challenge. As the Mets tried to get the out there, though, Jeffers raced all the way home from second and extended the Twins lead to 3-0.

Alas, Griffin Jax had another tough outing in a close game. The top of the Mets order strung together four hits and scored three runs against him to tie the game. It was almost worse; Bader came in to snare a line drive to stop the bleeding.

Twins closer Jhoan Duran came out for the ninth and took care of business. The Twins would now have to use their aggression at the plate and baserunning to finish this game off and take the series win. They couldn't score in the bottom of the ninth, but Cole Sands induced a crucial double play in the top of the 10th and they avoided allowing even the placed runner to score for the Mets. That set up a chance to walk things off in the bottom half.

The Twins started out with Buxton on second base and France at the plate. France, who was 0-4, could have been defeated, and rolled over, but instead, he forgot his last 12 at-bats and hit a clean single. The Mets didn't handle the ball cleanly, anyway, but there was no chance anyone was throwing out Buxton on a play like that. Twins win.

Notes
Willi Castro left in the eighth inning, with what Rocco Baldelli termed minor right oblique tightness. Baldelli also announced after the game that Matt Wallner will land on the injured list with his strained hamstring.

What’s Next? 
The Twins have played 12 straight but get a day off and then head to Atlanta to play the floundering Braves. Chris Paddack (0-2; 9.49 ERA) will be starting against a pitcher yet to be determined (0; 0.00 ERA) at 6:15PM CST. The game will be on Apple TV+.

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