Twins fall to Rays 2-1 despite David Festa’s solid pitching

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. – David Festa hasn’t carried the Twins rotation like Pablo López or Bailey Ober, and he hasn’t been around as long as fellow rookie Simeon Woods Richardson, but he’s nearing the point where he is no longer flying under the radar.

Festa has been solid since returning to the Twins roster after the All-Star break, and he pitched well again Tuesday at Tropicana Field. It just wasn’t enough to overcome one poor defensive inning and a quiet night offensively in a 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

“I feel confident,” said Festa, who permitted five hits and two runs in five innings. “It’s not an excuse, the rookie thing and all that. I’m out there — and there is a reason I’m out there.”

The Twins, who have lost six of their past nine games, sit 4½ games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central standings, matching their largest divisional deficit since Aug. 3.

Carlos Santana and Edouard Julien opened the ninth inning with back-to-back singles, one of the Twins’ few offensive opportunities. Rays reliever Edwin Uceta struck out the next two hitters before Tampa Bay turned to lefty Garrett Cleavinger with lefties Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner due up.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli countered with Christian Vázquez, the only righthanded hitter on the bench, to pinch hit for Larnach, but Vázquez grounded out to end the game.

Baldelli said he didn’t want Lee to bunt because Cleavinger was warming up, and the Twins had a shorthanded bullpen with multiple relievers unavailable. Ronny Henriquez was warmed up to pitch the ninth inning if they scored.

“I wanted to take a shot and see if Brooks could do something against the righty,” Baldelli said. “It’s actually a good spot to be in for us. … We needed runs. We needed to score runs, not just try to push a run across and we’re still in a tough spot.”

Festa pitched into a jam when Junior Caminero, Baseball America’s No. 1-rated prospect, led off the fourth inning with a single to right field and Josh Lowe followed with a walk. Pitching with a one-run lead, Festa induced a pop-up for the first out before the Twins defense had a couple of non-error misplays.

Jonathan Aranda hit a game-tying RBI single to left field, a fly ball that skipped past sliding left fielder Austin Martin, who didn’t react quickly to the ball in front of him.

After a ground ball turned into an out at the plate on a strong throw from Lee at shortstop, Rays catcher Logan Driscoll hit a liner that short-hopped off first baseman Carlos Santana’s glove into right field for a go-ahead RBI single. It was Driscoll’s first career hit.

“Those are plays that we need to make, and we know that,” Baldelli said. “Not that they’re not tricky plays or they’re not somewhat difficult, but deep down, I think everyone expects to make all those plays.”

Festa, who struck out seven and walked one, pitched around leadoff singles in the first and second innings. He relied heavily on his fastball and changeup in his first time through the Rays lineup, then mixed in more sliders, generating swings and misses with all three pitches in his repertoire.

“He’ll show glimpses of how phenomenal he can be, and he’ll lose it for a batter or two, then get back in there and strike out the side and finish the inning,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “We see the promise and excitement there with him. The next step of growth is just finding what can get the consistency rolling.”

Since the All-Star break, Festa has posted a 3.14 ERA through his past eight outings with 50 strikeouts in 37⅓ innings. He hasn’t pitched deep into games, the biggest knock against his performance, but he’s delivered quality innings for a shorthanded Twins rotation.

Festa credited pitching coach Pete Maki for constantly telling him to work on pitching out of the stretch between his starts.

“The game is going to speed up on you,” Festa said. “I think that’s helped me a lot so far with stranding the leadoff runner and keeping my composure in the big moments.”

Santana gave the Twins their first hit off lefthander Jeffrey Springs when he hit a towering solo homer to open the second inning, but they failed to capitalize on any other chances. They left two runners on base in the second inning when Michael Helman lined out to center in his first major league at-bat. Two more runners were stranded in the third inning.

Springs retired 10 of his last 11 batters and completed six innings for his longest start of the season.