ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Left fielder Joey Butler was likely to be part of the September call-ups next week but he gave the Tampa Bay Rays an early surprise.

Butler, who was called up earlier in the day, hit a game-tying single and scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball as the Rays earned a 5-4 win over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday at Tropicana Field.

Butler knocked in second baseman Logan Forsythe to tie the game 4-4 in the sixth inning. He advanced to second due to fielder indifference and moved to third on a grounder from pinch hitter John Jaso.

"Going down, I was able to get consistent at-bats and really figure out some things," Butler said. "I mean, it feels good. It feels good to go out and help the team win."

When a pitch from Neal Cotts eluded Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki, Butler came home to put Tampa Bay in front.

"Not a cross up," Suzuki said. "It was a thing where he was throwing that low cutter slider and I thought it was going down. I went down to block it and I think if I stayed up and tried to catch it instead of block it, I probably catch it. I thought I caught it for a second and then I heard (Kevin) Kiermaier say 'come on, come on', I was like....I didn't catch it?"

Brandon Gomes (2-4) pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for the win. Brad Boxberger struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth inning for his 31st save.

"The bullpen -- Gomes, (Alex) Colome, and (Boxberger) had just four really big innings, huge innings," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "This was a big win, obviously. There's still a lot of baseball to be played. Going forward, we're going to have a lot of big series."

Twins starter Tommy Milone (6-4) gave up five runs (four earned) on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Minnesota fell a half-game behind Texas for the second American League wild card. Tampa Bay is 2 1/2 games behind the Rangers.

"Obviously this outing didn't go as planned," Milone said. "It's frustrating. Ball got up and they starting hitting it to the outfield. It just wasn't a good day."

Shortstop Eduardo Escobar hit a home run to straightaway center and Suzuki had an RBI double off Rays starter Drew Smyly to give the Twins a 4-2 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Escobar has three home runs in the past two games.

"Escobar...we're glad he's getting out of town," Cash added.

The Rays tightened the game to 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning when designated hitter Travis Beckham and scored on a sacrifice fly by catcher J.P. Arencibia.

Tampa Bay took a 2-0 lead at the bottom of the first inning when right fielder Brandon Guyer scored on a sacrifice fly from third baseman Evan Longoria. The next batter, Forsythe, hit his 15th home run of the season.

"(Forsythe) seems like he never goes into those funks like we've seen some hitters go through but he just gives a consistent approach," Cash said. "Obviously he handles lefties well and the ball that he put a charge into today, I'm yelling 'get up, get up!' and the ball is clear out of the ball park.

The Twins rallied with runs in the second and third inning. Third baseman Miguel Sano had an RBI double that only stayed in the park because it hit the B-ring on the catwalk at Tropicana Field.

"I guess you could say we were lucky we got one run, because if they catch it we get zero, which is kind of crazy," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "It is what it is. I'm sure over time they've concluded that the ground rules that are in place are best suited for the facility they have, so you kind of have to live by it."

Suzuki said Sano's hit would have likely been one of the longest home runs of the season but he was able to joke about it.

"Must be nice to hit a 440-foot double," he said.

Smyly gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits and struck out five in 4 1/3 innings. He threw 100 pitches with 63 strikes.

"I didn't make enough quality pitches," Smyly said. "They put some good at-bats together and got a couple of big hits."

NOTES: With a hit Thursday, Twins DH Joe Mauer reached safely via hit or walk in 14 straight against the Rays. ... Rays 1B James Loney served his one-game suspension Thursday after dropping his appeal, stemming from his ejection Saturday at Oakland. "It's just better to take (the suspension) now rather than, if you lose the appeal, have them determine when that day would be," Loney said. "So you might as well just take it on your own terms." ... Rays OF Desmond Jennings was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised left knee. The Rays recalled OF Joey Butler from Triple-A Durham.