MINNEAPOLIS – O Tampa Bay Rays scored on a throwing error Minnesota Texas’ Royce Lewis with two outs in the 10th inning for a 3-2 win that snapped the Twins’ six-game winning streak on Wednesday night.
The Rays, who improved to a major league-best 25-11 in games decided by one or two runs, won for just the fourth time in their last 12 games.
Jason Adam (4-1) pitched a perfect ninth for the win. Phil Maton threw a 1-2-3 inning in the 10th for his second save, with closer Pete Fairbanks unavailable after the thumb on his throwing hand was injured from a return the night before.
Jorge Alcala (1-2) hit Randy Arozarena with a pitch in the top of the inning. He threw a sinker into the dirt with so much force that it ricocheted off the fastbreak and hit catcher Christian Vázquez for a relatively easy ejection of automatic runner Jose Siri at third.
Lewis, who caught Siri’s grounder with the bases loaded in the seventh and beat Amed Rosario for the inning-ending force out, hit a sharp chopper from Jonny DeLuca to his left and sent his deep throw past first baseman Carlos Santana let Arozarena give the go-ahead.
Lewis went 3 for 4 with a walk and tiebreaking home run in the fifth inning that broke part of a video card in the target field.
Isaac Paredes hit his team-leading 11th homer in the third off Twins starter Joe Ryan, who sailed through six innings with a 2-1 lead before a rough performance from the bullpen. Ryan made another bid to make his first All-Star team, allowing one run on six hits and one walk.
Ryan, who was selected in the seventh round by the Rays in the same 2018 draft that took Bradley in the fifth round, was traded to the Twins in 2021 for 55 games of veteran slugger Nelson Cruz. The Rays lost in the playoff division series about 2 1/2 months later.
Rays starter Taj Bradley gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings.
Lewis hit his eighth home run in 14 games since returning from a severely strained quadriceps muscle suffered in the opening of the season. With an exit velocity measured at 108.7 mph, this ricocheted off the ribbon board that sits in front of the second deck above left field — and appeared to knock out a long section of LED lights that used to represent the rotating advertisements. The red Budweiser logos that existed at the time ended with a black spot on white, just like the rest that followed.
In 90 career major league games including the playoffs, Lewis hit 29 homers with 74 RBIs.
Cole Sands relieved Ryan in the seventh and surrendered a single to Ben Rortvedt before runner José Caballero stole second base and took third when shortstop Carlos Correa let the pitch bounce off his glove and into center field.
Yandy Diaz tied the game with the smoothest of singles, a sort of hit that dribbled down the third base line, where Lewis didn’t play.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Fairbanks played ball smoothly before the game after a minor injury on Tuesday. He said he feels normal and hopes to be available for action by Thursday.
NEXT
The Rays will send RHP Zack Littell (2-5, 4.24 ERA) to the mound for the series finale on Thursday afternoon, alongside Twins rookie RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (2-1, 3.29 IT WAS). Littell made his major league debut with the Twins in 2018 after being acquired from the Yankees in a trade the previous year.
___
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
