Rays Let Late Lead Slip Away, Lose 4-3 to Twins on Harrison Bader Walk-Off Home Run

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Tampa Bay Rays' blueprint for success is a well-worn tale. Winning a game is usually all about getting good starting pitching, finding a few timely hits and then slamming the door shut late.

They got two out of three on Friday against the Minnesota Twins — and that wasn't enough.

Tampa Bay starter Zach Littell pitched great, allowing just one run in six innings, and the Rays grabbed a lead in the sixth inning. But three Rays relievers — Edwin Uceta, Garret Cleavinger and Kevin Kelly — all struggled, and when Twins left fielder Harrison Bader took Kelly deep on a misplaced first-pitch fastball to lead off the bottom of the ninth, Minnesota walked off with a 4-3 win.

It was an uncharacteristic loss for the Rays, which had the best bullpen in baseball until two weeks ago. They've been struggling of late, and it cost them again on Friday. The 48-40 Rays have now lost four of their last five games — and five of seven — all to teams with losing records, Baltimore, the Athletics and Minnesota.

It's also the third straight loss in an opponent's last at-bat. That's just something we're not used to seeing.

"It happens. It's not fun to watch, and I think any of those three guys will tell you that's just not the way they want to go out there,'' said Littell, who a solo home run the Bader in the fifth, but nothing else. He allowed just four hits. "It definitely sucks, and it's a tough way to lose a game, but they're going to be right back out there tomorrow. And they're all going to want to go out there and be better than they were today.''

Bader's homer in the fifth was the first run of the game, and the league-leading 24th allowed by Littell. But the Rays answered in the top of the sixth, scoring twice to take the lead. Josh Lowe opened the inning with a single, and he scored on a Yandy Diaz double. Junior Caminero then drove in Diaz with a single, making it 2-1 Rays.

Littell pitched a perfect sixth. "I thought the sixth was my best inning because I got the guys back in the dugout after taking the lead,'' he said. The Rays added on in the seventh when shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, playing his first game of the season after shoulder surgery, led off with a single. Chandler Simpson walked, but then Kim was thrown out at third trying to steal.

Simpson was at second, though, and scored on the next pitch on a Josh Lowe single to right, giving the Rays a 3-1 lead.

That's oftentimes the end of the story for the Rays, but that wasn't the case Friday. Edwin Uceta, who's given up eight runs since last Thursday, gave up two singles and then a double to Byron Buxton that made it 3-2. Garrett Cleavinger came in, but he hit Willi Castro and Brooks Lee back-to-back, tying the game.

"Cleav looked like he had some crossfire there against the right-handers with the cutter and the fastball,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said of the two hit-batters by Cleavinger. ''That's just the way it goes sometimes.

"I just think he was trying to make a quality pitch and just ran it too far inside.''

Twins reliever Louis Varland recorded six straight outs in the eighth and ninth to keep the score tied, and the Bader tomahawked Kelly's first offering in the ninth just barely over the fence in left field. It was a big win for the scuffling Twins, who were 7-19 since June 3 and had only scored three runs total in their last four games.

The two teams play again on Saturday at Target Field, with first pitch at 2:10 p.m. ET.