Minnesota Twins right-handed pitcher Taj Bradley entered Friday's start against the Tampa Bay Rays 3-0 with a 1.63 ERA, but that production wasn't sustainable. The Georgia native didn't have his best night on Friday, allowing six runs on seven hits over 6.1 innings.

Junior Caminero opened the scoring with a solo homer for the Rays in the bottom of the first before Chandler Simpson hit an RBI groundout in the third to make the score 2-0. Jonathan Aranda then hit a leadoff homer in the fourth before Caminero went deep again in the seventh, giving Tampa Bay a 6-1 lead and ending Bradley's night.

Minnesota is now on a three-game losing streak and has lost seven of its last eight games after winning eight of nine. The club is 12-14 on the season, good for third place in the AL Central. 

Meanwhile, Bradley is now 3-1 with a 2.91 ERA. The 2018 fifth-round pick's body of work this season is still worth getting excited about for Twins fans, as he could establish himself as a long-term piece if he keeps his ERA around 3.00.

Bradley largely struggled in the big leagues before this year, as he had a 5.59 ERA over 23 outings (21 starts) for the Rays in 2023 before logging a 4.11 ERA over 25 starts in 2024. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder then pitched to a 4.61 ERA over 21 starts last year before Tampa Bay trade him to Minnesota, and he logged a 6.61 ERA over six starts for the latter team after the deal.

Although Friday was a setback, Bradley still has three quality starts this year and hadn't allowed more than two runs in any of his five previous outings.

Meanwhile, shortstop Brooks Lee and third baseman Royce Lewis both homered on Friday. Lee continues to be productive in his second full big-league season, as he's now slashing .263/.322/.438 with four homers and 13 RBIs over 24 games. Lewis is hitting just .208, but he has a .771 OPS with three homers and nine RBIs over 15 contests.

The Twins need Lewis to increase his batting average, but his OPS shows why they drafted him first overall in 2017. Even if the club doesn't contend for a title this season, productive campaigns from these young players would be a step in the right direction.

Up next for Minnesota is a rematch with Tampa Bay at 4:10 p.m. ET on Saturday. Right-handed pitcher Bailey Ober will start against Rays southpaw Shane McLanahan.