Twins' late heroics fall short in extra-inning loss to Rays

Minnesota's walk-off streak ends at two games.

Jul 6, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Willi Castro (50) tags out Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Jake Mangum (28) on a stolen base attempt in the second inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Twins tried to pull off a late-game comeback for the third straight game, but they ran out of gas, falling 7-5 to the Rays in 10 innings on Sunday.

Byron Buxton got the party started early for Minnesota with another lead-off bomb, his 20th home run of the season. He added to an impressive day with a steal, tying Gary Gaetti for a franchise record with six games with at least one home run and one steal in a season.

Buxton just tied Gaetti for the team record — 6 games in a season with at least one homer and one steal.

It’s July 6 https://t.co/6XcyreCKAc

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) July 6, 2025

The Twins deployed Joe Ryan as their starting pitcher on Sunday, and he started out strong. A Taylor Walls home run in the third inning broke the seal, and he allowed only one more run. His afternoon finished with eight strikeouts and six hits allowed in six innings of work.

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A fielding error gave Trevor Larnach the opportunity to have a beautiful slide home in the sixth inning to tie the game at two. Brock Stewart retired the first three batters he faced in the seventh, then Griffin Jax imploded in the eighth as three hits resulted in two Tampa Bay runs and a 4-2 Twins deficit.

That's when Harrison Bader entered the game cold off the bench and slugged a two-run, game-tying homer in the bottom of the eighth.

BADER MANIA IN MINNEAPOLIS! pic.twitter.com/YOnWKZ1Agy

— Twins.TV (@twinstv) July 6, 2025

Louis Varland got Minnesota to the 10th inning after retiring the first three batters he faced in the ninth. It was a different story for Justin Topa, who was shelled in the 10th and his throwing error fueled a three-run inning and a 7-4 lead for the Rays.

Bader added another RBI on a groundout, but it was too little, too late for Minnesota.

The Twins are now 43-47 on the season. They will be off Monday before hosting the Cubs on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. CT.