Twins 4, Rays 3: Harrison Bader Brings His Fireworks for a Twins Win!

Box Score
SP: Chris Paddack 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K (87 pitches, 57 strikes (66%))
Home Runs: Harrison Bader 2 (8, 9)
Top 3 WPA: Bader (.411), Louis Varland (.242), Brooks Lee (.211)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Twins limped home from a 2-4 road trip five games under .500, and at risk of becoming "sellers" at this season's trade deadline. The good news? Today marks the start of a nine-game homestand and the Twins are 22-17 at home. The bad news? The Twins have only scored three runs across their last four games, and they were a measely 4-9 at home in June. The good news? It's the 4th of July, and the Twins haven't lost on Independence Day since 2019! The bad news? The Twins haven't caused any fireworks for a long, long time. 

Chris Paddack (3-7, 4.52 ERA) came into today's contest knowing that he had to throw a gem to keep his offensively struggling teammates in the game. Former Twin Zack Littell (7-7, 3.51 ERA) looked to notch his second win of the season off of his old club. The conditions were hot on the field, but could the urgency and importance of the moment light a fire under the Twins as well? Or would their spark continue to fizzle out when it mattered most?

No Early Fireworks
Paddack began the game looking like a man on fire, setting down the first nine Rays that he faced. Unfortunately for the Twins, their current struggles continued against Littell as well. Minnesota managed to get a player on base in each of the first three innings, but they failed to cash in a run in any of the opportunities. Willi Castro singled and stole second base in the bottom of the first inning, which marked his fourth consecutive game with a swiped base. Trevor Larnach struck out, and Carlos Correa lined out to end that threat. Royce Lewis got on with an infield dribbler in the bottom of the second with two outs, and Ty France left him right there.

The Twins' best early chance for fireworks came with two outs in the bottom of the third inning. Castro walked, and because he stayed put at first, Larnach was able to pull a soft grounder through the right side to put runners at the corners. With their big money man Correa up, the Twins felt so poorly about Correa's chances to deliver that they put on a double-steal with the slow-footed Larnach, and he was cut down at second base to provide yet another way to end a scoring threat for the Twins fans to witness in 2025. 

Paddack Doesn't Blow Up, but Bader Does!
After that disappointing series of events on the bases, Paddack kept his no-hitter going until Brandon Lowe snuck a single through to right field with two outs in the top of the fourth. On the very next pitch, Junior Caminero roped a single to left, and suddenly the Twins were under attack and at risk of surrendering the first run of the game. The Sheriff faced off in a duel against the dangerous and All-Star Game bound Jonathan Aranda, and Aranda couldn't lay off the high heat on a full count and Paddack and the Twins breathed a collective sigh of relief.

That sigh lasted until the bottom of the fifth inning, and then Harrison Bader lit the fuse that ignited the Target Field faithful. With one out, Bader took a 90 mph sinker that didn't sink, and sunk it into the second deck in left to put his team ahead 1-0.

Fun While it Lasted, Which Wasn't Long

Paddack entered the top of the sixth inning with 76 pitches, and he was slated to face the top of the Rays lineup. Josh Lowe jumped on a changeup for a single to start the inning. Yandy Diaz came up next and absolutely crushed a slider to the tune of 113 mph exit velocity. The liner scooted all the way to the fence, and since it happened on a 3-2 pitch in which Lowe was running, it plated Lowe, and knotted the game up at one apiece.

With nobody out and Diaz in scoring position, Paddack departed and the hopes of Twins Territory fell on Danny Coulombe. The lefty reliever induced a line out from the other Lowe, Brandon, for the first out. Caminero was less hospitable, however, and he deposited a bloop single to right to score Diaz and to take the lead.

Looking for a Spark...Some Fire...Anything?
Unfortunately, the next round of noise came from the Rays' bats against Brock Stewart in the top of the seventh inning. Ha-Seong Kim singled to lead off the inning, and then stole second to immediately put pressure on Stewart. Chandler Simpson walked to add even more pressure, but luckily, Danny Jansen failed to lay down a bunt, and his infield fly left the runners stranded where they were. So, the Rays decided to move them on their own, sending Kim and Simpson on a double-steal, but Ryan Jeffers was up to the challenge and nailed Kim at third for the second out. The Lowe named Josh came up next, and he immediately ensured that Stewart would see an increased ERA by singling in Simpson with two outs to make it 3-1 Tampa.

Cole Sands eventually got the Twins out of that half of the inning and back up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh. Wallner and France singled to put runners at first and second with one out, but Bader couldn't deliver more fireworks; he struck out to bring up Byron Buxton in a must-have situation. Buxton delivered, dumping a double down the left-field line to plate Wallner and to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Lefty Garrett Cleavinger came in to get the Rays out of the jam, but he drilled Castro to load the bases. Brooks Lee replaced Larnach for a righty/lefty matchup, and Cleavinger decided to end the drama himself by hitting Lee with a high and inside pitch to tie it up!

Correa was next man up, and he hoped to exercise his bases-loaded demons and to send Target Field into a fireworks frenzy. He struck out, badly.

Varland Deals, and Bader Blasts
The Twins needed their well-rested bullpen to be clutch in this afternoon affair, and Louis Varland was up to the challenge and then some. Varland topped out above 100 mph on his fastballs, and set the Rays down in order in the eighth AND ninth innings to set up someone for a hero moment on Independence Day. Turns out we already saw that hero once today, and Harrison Bader is his name. Kevin Kelly stayed in the game to start the bottom of the ninth, and after escaping a few bad pitches in the eighth, Bader took his first pitch middle-middle sinker deep and over the flowers in left to end the game with one last homerun fireworks display! 

What’s Next?
The Twins look to win the series and keep the good times rolling on Saturday with another afternoon contest. The Twins still need to fill Bailey Ober's shoes, and most likely the next man up for Saturday's contest will be righty prospect Travis Adams. Whether Adams is allowed to start, or will make his MLB debut after an opener is used remains to be seen. The Rays will send righty Taj Bradley (5-6, 4.79 ERA) in hopes of taming the Twins offense. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm CDT.

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