Twins Beat Rays 10-4 on Gray's Grand Slam

In a chilly and wet home opener, the Minnesota Twins erupted for seven runs in the seventh inning, highlighted by Tristan Gray's first career grand slam, to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 10-4 on Friday in Minneapolis.

The game, delayed an hour by a soggy afternoon and a downtown power outage, began with temperatures at 38 degrees Fahrenheit and concluded amid steady rain. Gray, a backup infielder who earned the Twins' final opening-day roster spot, delivered the decisive blow with a one-out line drive off a 1-1 cutter from Rays reliever Yeondrys Gómez. The ball just cleared the 23-foot wall in right field, traveling 374 feet and putting the Twins ahead 10-3 after loading the bases.

The inning began with the score tied at 3-3. Rays pitcher Kevin Kelly, who fell to 0-1, opened by hitting All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton on the right forearm, forcing him from the game. X-rays later showed no fracture, though Buxton sustained a bruise. Kelly then issued consecutive bases-loaded walks to Trevor Larnach and Royce Lewis, sandwiching Josh Bell's tiebreaking RBI single to center that made it 4-3. Gray's slam followed, accounting for five of his total RBIs on the night; he also added a...