Brooks Lee's perfect bunt delivers Twins' walk-off win over Rays

New York Times

3 days ago

MINNEAPOLIS — Brooks Lee only bunted once before in his professional career and was yelled at. When he bunted again on Saturday afternoon, it resulted in a different kind of yelling.
Lee's teammates hollered with delight as he perfectly executed a safety squeeze for a game-winning single, the hit resulting in a 6-5 Twins walk-off victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Target Field. Lee's ninth-inning, bunt single helped the Twins complete a comeback win and earn their first series victory in a month.
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Royce Lewis drove in two runs, and Kody Clemens belted a game-tying homer for the Twins, who are seeking a series sweep when the teams meet again Sunday. Jhoan Duran earned the victory — the 500th of manager Rocco Baldelli's career — with two scoreless innings pitched.
'I was like, 'Are we bunting?'' Lee said. 'I had to go make sure. But yeah, I was comfortable with it. I thought I was going to get it down, and I saw it happen in my mind, and I did. … It's definitely a different feeling when you walk it off, and it's just a good clubhouse feeling.'
The Twins need all the good vibes they can muster.
WALK IT OFF, BROOKS!! pic.twitter.com/o1uM9EsM1Z
— Twins.TV (@twinstv) July 5, 2025
They limped home Thursday five games under .500 after a disappointing road trip in which the offense was dormant, losing four of six games in Detroit and Miami. Though Harrison Bader's walk-off home run Friday provided some relief, none of the energy seemed to carry over to Saturday.
Early on, the Twins looked like a sad-sack offense, scoring only once in spite of a golden opportunity with the bases loaded and no outs in the second inning. After Lewis singled in a run with an infield nubber, the Twins went down in order and only led 1-0.
Tampa Bay took advantage of the Twins' early misfire and raced out to a 5-1 lead, doing most of its damage against rookie pitcher Travis Adams in the middle of a bullpen day. Making his major-league debut, Adams yielded nine hits, which tied a Twins record with three other rookie pitchers.
But somehow, the Twins battled back.
First on a Lewis two-out RBI single and then a three-run bolt from Clemens in the sixth.
And after an outstanding escape by Duran in the ninth, Lee received a chance to lay down a bunt and receive kudos instead of criticism. Following the lead of Duran, who struck out Yandy Díaz with the go-ahead run at third and one out and retired Junior Caminero on an inning-ending fly ball, the Twins perked up.
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Byron Buxton drew a leadoff walk against Rays lefty Garrett Cleavinger and raced to third base on Willi Castro's bounder through the right side. Castro's hit set the stage for Lee, who's never been credited for a successful sacrifice bunt either in the pros or in three seasons at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.
'They have guys that get swing and miss,' Baldelli said. 'We had some good at-bats, but let's not wait around too long. If Brooks can get the bunt down — and it's not an easy bunt. But if he can get the bunt down, Buck's going to be safe. I just simplified it in my mind like that. (Lee) can lay a bunt down. He's a baseball player. He said, 'That's Big West baseball at its finest.''
Even though Tampa Bay pulled in the infield, the Rays didn't appear to think Lee would bunt. He offered at Cleavinger's first pitch, a 98 mph fastball on the inner half, and perfectly pushed it up the first-base line for a single, which set off a second straight celebration.
'Practiced it like every other day in college,' Lee said. 'Bunted in pro-ball, I think one time, and I got yelled at. … But yeah, I definitely practice it enough times to be comfortable, and it showed off.'
The Twins didn't show much against Tampa Bay starter Taj Bradley, who shook off the early jam and pitched well into the middle innings. After Lewis singled with the bases loaded to make it 1-0, Bradley struck out Clemens, got Bader to hit into a fielder's choice and retired Buxton on a towering fly ball to the warning track in left field.
Bradley retired 13 of 14 batters following Lewis's single in the second inning. The Twins wasted a one-out Trevor Larnach double in the third inning and then weren't heard from until the sixth inning.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay took advantage of Adams' inability to miss bats, scoring a run in the third, fourth and sixth innings along with a pair in the fifth. Working as part of a bullpen day, Adams allowed five earned runs and nine hits in four innings, striking out one.
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But as quickly as the Twins seemed finished, they woke up.
Carlos Correa and Ryan Jeffers started a game-tying rally with a pair of one-out singles in the sixth inning. Lewis provided his teammates with a jolt, a two-out single to right-center field to make it a 5-2 game. Clemens then followed with a stunning, opposite-field, three-run homer off Kevin Kelly to tie the game.
KODY CLEMENS TIES IT! pic.twitter.com/XzZjsL9cNy
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 5, 2025
Griffin Jax followed with a scoreless seventh inning to keep the score tied.
Duran then provided his first two-inning outing of the season, though it wasn't easy.
The right-hander worked around a one-out double and an intentional walk during a 16-pitch eighth inning. He also surrendered a one-out single in the ninth and watched as Jeffers' throw on a stolen-base attempt by pinch runner José Caballero sailed into center field, allowing the go-ahead run to advance to third.
Somehow, Duran escaped.
To do so, he struck out Díaz, who whiffs only 13.7 percent of the time, the 18th-lowest total in the majors, with a fastball above the letters. Following a two-out walk, Duran got Caminero to fly out.
As impressive as Duran was, he went out of his way to praise Lee's bunt.
'It's always amazing when we do a walk-off,' Duran said. 'It was great and (credit) to Brooks Lee. The first time he did a bunt in the game and to do it for the walk-off. … It's great for us. We need it.'