Twins Survive Rockies' 8-Run Ninth Nightmare, Win 9-8 in Ten

Minnesota led 7-0 through seven innings and still needed extra innings to beat Colorado 9-8 on June 27, 2026. Hunter Goodman's 451-foot, two-run homer in the ninth swung the win probability from 76% in Minnesota's favor all the way down to 22% — and the Twins had to answer in the same inning just to stay alive.

Taj Bradley was the story through seven frames, and it looked like a comfortable night for Minnesota. Bradley went 7.0 innings, allowing just 3 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 7, and the Twins had built a 7-0 cushion on the back of early power. Kody Clemens got it started in the first with a 380-foot homer to right that scored Byron Buxton, making it 2-0. Brooks Lee followed in the second with a 348-foot shot to right that plated Royce Lewis, pushing the lead to 4-0. Minnesota kept piling on in the fifth — Buxton doubled to score Larnach, then Bell doubled to left to score both Clemens and Buxton — and suddenly it was 7-0. Tomoyuki Sugano, meanwhile, was getting carved up on the Colorado side, allowing 8 hits and 7 earned runs across 5.0 innings.

Then the eighth inning cracked the door open. Colorado scratched across three runs — a groundout by Moniak scored Tovar, Goodman's sacrifice fly scored Julien, and a Rumfield single scored McCarthy — to make it 7-3. That looked like a consolation rally. The ninth inning was something else entirely. Julien doubled to center to score Carrigg, then Jake McCarthy launched a 381-foot homer to right center to score Julien and cut the deficit to one. Colorado trailed 7-6. Then Goodman stepped up and hit a 451-foot bomb to left that scored Fulford and gave Colorado an 8-7 lead. The win probability swung from 76% to 22% in Minnesota's favor on that single swing. McCarthy finished 3-for-5 with a homer, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored; Goodman went 1-for-4 but drove in 3 and scored once.

Minnesota, to its credit, didn't fold. Buxton singled to left in the bottom of the ninth to score Martin and tie it at 8, forcing extras. In the tenth, Royce Lewis — who finished 3-for-5 with an RBI — singled to center to score Fedko and give the Twins the 9-8 walk-off win. Buxton was everywhere all night: 3-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored. The Twins appear to have gotten away with one here — blowing a seven-run lead and still finding a way to win looks less like dominance and more like survival. Colorado's late-game power, particularly from McCarthy and Goodman, suggests this Rockies lineup isn't going quietly against anyone.