Twins Beat Rockies in Extras After Bullpen Blows 7-0 Lead

The Twins bullpen did its best to give the game away, but Royce Lewis came up clutch in extra innings.

Jun 26, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Royce Lewis (23) celebrates with center fielder Austin Martin (16) and center fielder Byron Buxton (25) hitting a game winning single against the Colorado Rockies in the tenth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis spared the blushes of a Minnesota Twins bullpen that threw away a seven-run lead in the final two innings against the Colorado Rockies at Target Field on Friday evening.

The Twins appeared to be coasting to victory on the back of an excellent batting performance, with homers from Kody Clemens and Brooks Lee seeing the home side jump out 7-0 by the end of the fifth.

After an otherwise strong appearance that included seven strikouts, Twins starter Taj Bradley left the game with a couple of runners on and no outs in the eighth inning, thinking surely that the bullpen would see the game out from there.

Cue disaster, with Kody Funderburk in the eighth and then Eric Orze and Anthony Banda in the ninth combining as the 32-49 Rockies surged into an 8-7 lead, putting the Twins on the precipice of surely their worst defeat of the season.

But the batters once again stood up, with singles from Austin Martin, Ryan Kreidler, and then Buxton tying the game up. Buxton's high chopper scored Martin thanks to a very fortunate bounce that sent the ball past the glove of third baseman Willi Castro.

BUCK IN THE CLUTCH pic.twitter.com/BaGqNrmwIt

— Twins.TV (@twinstv) June 27, 2026

The Twins finally got some competent bullpen play in the 10th inning, with Andrew Morris getting through the inning unscathed, before Lewis stepped up with two on and no outs.

His single up the center scored Kyler Fedko, securing the Twins' first walk-off win of the season. The Twins are now 39-44 on the season, 4.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

LETS ROLLLL pic.twitter.com/kykb8blggo

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) June 27, 2026