Twins rally late, beat Phillies on Max Kepler’s bottom-of-the-ninth RBI single

Max Kepler matched Kirby Puckett and Harmon Killebrew for the most walk-off plate appearances in Twins history Wednesday, but it cost him his bat.

Kepler, hitting against Philadelphia Phillies lefty Gregory Soto with a runner on third base and the infield drawn in, broke his bat on an inside 99-mph fastball. A soft ground ball up the middle worked as well as a homer, driving in Trevor Larnach without a throw to the plate to seal the Twins’ comeback 5-4 win at Target Field.

The Twins took two of three games from the Phillies, who own the best record in the majors. Teammates dumped water bottles over Kepler to celebrate his 11th career walk-off plate appearance in 10 seasons.

“Great company to be next to the big dogs like that,” Kepler said. “But I’ve got to keep a small dog mentality. Stay hungry and keep working.”

With the score tied, Soto plunked Larnach with a 96-mph sinker to begin the ninth inning. Larnach advanced to second on a wild pitch and he moved to third when Austin Martin dropped a sacrifice bunt.

Kepler had faced Soto 14 times in his career, and it was the second time he hit a walk-off single against him, putting the sixth pitch of his at-bat in play.

“It’s a scary at-bat,” Kepler said. “I don’t think he’s been controlling it very well recently. With the movement he puts on the ball with his sinker and his slider, it goes both ways. It’s hard to go into that at-bat passive, so it was scary when he was running them up and in. … I think I hit one off my thumbs, but it got the job done.”

BOXSCORE: Twins 5, Philadelphia 4

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For all the trouble the Twins have against the top teams — they’re 4-20 against the six teams with better records — much of it stems from their lack of clutch hits. In the 24 games, they are hitting .137 with runners in scoring position.

Trailing by three runs in the seventh inning, the Twins loaded the bases after reliever Orion Kerkering issued two walks and hit Byron Buxton with a pitch. Buxton exited the next inning because of the forearm contusion.

A run scored when Kepler beat out a potential double-play ground ball. Then Carlos Santana lofted a game-tying, two-run double off All-Star reliever Matt Strahm, a fly ball that left fielder Brandon Marsh missed as he stuck his glove out in front of the wall.

“We’re grinding with what we have,” Kepler said. “A lot of guys are down on the injured list, and we’re still competing, which is special. With a group this young right now, to go through the stuff we’re going through against these top-tier teams, it’s special.”

The Twins opted to use Steven Okert as an opener in front of David Festa because the Phillies have two lefthanded hitters — Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper — fixed atop their lineup. Festa saved it from being a disaster.

Festa inherited two runners in scoring position in the first inning after Okert walked Schwarber and gave up a single and a stolen base to Trea Turner. Fortunately for the Twins, Festa looked most comfortable in the toughest situations. He struck out Alec Bohm and Marsh on called third strikes in the first inning, then escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second with back-to-back strikeouts.

“He came out and saved my life,” Okert said, “and then continued pitching good.”

Festa yielded one run and struck out seven in 4⅓ innings. Combine his outing with Simeon Woods Richardson and Bailey Ober in the previous two games, and the Twins had one of their best-pitched series against the top team in the majors. The three pitchers allowed three runs in 17⅓ innings (1.56 ERA).

“If you enjoy watching good baseball,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said, “this series was a good example of what you’re looking for.”