Harrison Bader's Pair Of Fourth of July Homers May Be Great Sign of Things to Come

June was not kind to the bat of Minnesota Twins left fielder Harrison Bader, but he seems to be turning things around.

After a productive May, Bader's numbers at the plate fell precipitously in June. Last month, Bader posted a .194/.253/.319 line with a .573 OPS in 72 plate appearances after slashing .322/.406/.508 with a .914 OPS in 59 at-bats.

Bader changed his fortunes against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, as the 31-year-old went 2-for-4 on a pair of homers, one of which was a walk-off shot to give the Twins a 4-3 victory. It was the first walk-off home run of his career.

Bader, not known for the long ball, had as many home runs yesterday as he hit in each of the last three months. Friday was also just the third time Bader produced a multi-homer game in his nine-year career.

Both of Bader's home runs Friday came off the first pitch, where he has done most of his damage this season. With the count 0-0 this season, Bader is hitting .481 (13-for-27) with four home runs, a double and seven RBIs.

In first-pitch situations, Bader also has a .517 on-base percentage and a .963 slugging percentage. His 1.480 OPS in these situations is higher than when he is facing any other pitch count.

“It feels great,” said Bader after the walk-off win. “You just genuinely have to believe you're always one pitch away or one swing away or one diving play away from making the tides turn.”

Heading into Saturday's Game 2 against Tampa Bay, Bader is hitting .300. He will face Rays right-hander Taj Bradley, whose 4.79 ERA is the eighth-worst among starting pitchers in the league.