A well-pitched rubber match that featured just two solo blasts through the first nine innings was decided in extras by a third home run.
Justin Topa #48 of the Minnesota Twins reacts as he walks off the field during the tenth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Target Field on April 5, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Matt Krohn/Getty Images)
Richie Palacios broke open a tied game in the 10th inning with a two-run home run off Justin Topa, sending the Twins to a 4-1 loss in the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays.
One more run would score in the inning as Topa allowed a hit and a walk before he departed, and Taylor Rogers later issued a bases-loaded walk.
It came on another slow day for the Twins’ offense, which managed just three hits for the second straight day. The Twins are now 3-6 and have scored just one run in four of their nine games.
“If you just dumb it down, we’ve got to just put the ball in play and kind of work from there,” said first baseman Kody Clemens, who went 0 for 4.
Two hits came off the bat of Matt Wallner, who hit a mammoth blast out to the concourse in right field in the second inning off starter Nick Martinez, giving the Twins a one-run lead. They did not have another hit leave the infield all day.
Their second hit came in the seventh when Wallner’s dribbler was deflected by first baseman Jonathan Aranda. Former Twins reliever Griffin Jax grabbed it and dove to the bag, but Wallner just beat him there. He was later thrown out by Jax trying to take second base. Austin Martin also had an infield hit in the loss.
“We need to make some hard contact. If I had a solution for it, it would be a lot easier,” manager Derek Shelton said. “But right now, we’re just in total in a little bit of a funk. We need to figure it out. We just need to create more baserunners, and we’re not doing that.”
And that meant that Simeon Woods Richardson’s effective and efficient outing went for naught.
Woods Richardson’s 6 2/3-inning outing was the longest for a Twins starter this season. Like Martinez, the only run he gave up came on a solo home run, his to Junior Caminero in the fourth inning on a pitch way below the strike zone that the third baseman had to go down and get.
“It was a good pitch,” Woods Richardson said. “So it’s like you tip your cap to that. Solos don’t hurt you. They got one run out of that. After that, you’ve just got to keep pushing.”
And he did.
Woods Richardson ran into some trouble in his final inning of work, allowing a pair of singles, but Kody Funderburk came in and got a groundball hit back at him to end the threat. From there, Cole Sands took over, throwing a pair of scoreless innings to keep the tie intact.
“We threw the ball well,” Shelton said. “We’ve just got to get things going offensively. We’ve had six hits in the last couple days, and I think that’s kind of what it boils down to.”
Acton called up
It has been a hectic few days for reliever Garrett Acton, whom the Twins acquired on Thursday from the Miami Marlins. Acton, who has just 6 2/3 innings of major league experience, reported to Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday. By the end of the day, he was receiving news that he had been called up.
“It’s been a whirlwind week, a lot going on. But ultimately I’m just happy to be here,” Acton said.
In the past few weeks, Acton said he has been working on adding in a sweeper to try to generate more out of zone whiff. To make room on the roster, the Twins optioned Zak Kent to Triple-A. Kent had thrown 34 pitches over two innings on Saturday night.
“Sometimes you get in a situation and it’s the situation we’re in (Sunday), where we needed a healthy arm,” Shelton said. “Sometimes, it’s the next guy up to be able to have to cover innings.”
Briefly
Joe Ryan will take the mound on Monday when the Twins play host to the Detroit Tigers. He will be opposed by Casey Mize. Tuesday, the Twins will see two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. … The Twins have lost each of their first three series. It’s the first time they have done so since 2016.