SAN DIEGO -- For the second time in three days, the bullpen collapse came much too quickly for the Twins to react.

This time, it took only 10 pitches in just over three minutes from left-hander Steven Okert for the Padres to roar back from a two-run deficit in the eighth inning and deal the Twins a 7-5 loss at Petco Park on Tuesday night.

Their third consecutive loss was made more difficult not only by the context -- coming on the heels of the five-run blowup Sunday by Jorge Alcala in the seventh inning against the Rangers -- but also by how mistakes in key moments erased what looked to be another victory in hand as part of a tight playoff chase.

“It’s hard to have that feeling like we’re in charge, especially in the time of season where every game matters as much as it does,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “As tight as it is, every game matters, so it’s hard to lose two games we could have won. But you’ve got to turn the page tomorrow.”

Even after Bailey Ober ceded a game-tying homer to Manny Machado in the seventh inning, the Twins seized the lead back on a clutch two-run, pinch-hit single by Christian Vázquez to take a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the eighth. But things unraveled when Okert was summoned to face the run of left-handed batters and switch-hitters due up for the Padres.

Pinch-hitter Donovan Solano, a right-handed batter, got a two-strike fastball and punched it up the middle for a single. Lefty Luis Arraez also poked a two-strike fastball to left field for a knock. The 2-0 pitch Okert threw to switch-hitter Jurickson Profar was beneath the strike zone -- but Profar lined the ball into the first row of the left-field bleachers to take the lead back in a flurry that lasted just over three minutes.

“It's obviously frustrating,” Okert said. “It sucks losing the game for the team. I felt like everyone played pretty good. [Ober] threw great. [Griffin Jax] threw great. Offense came in big against a really good reliever there. So it's pretty frustrating and sucks, for sure.”

Why was it Okert in that spot?

Jax had already thrown in relief of Ober in the seventh, pitching for the fourth time in six days. Jhoan Duran would have been held in reserve for the ninth inning, and with a run of four left-handed or switch-hitters due up for the Padres, it made sense to go to a lefty instead of the heavily-used Alcala or Cole Sands, with Caleb Thielbar having thrown on Monday.

So, even knowing the possibility of players coming off the bench -- Padres skipper Mike Shildt did, indeed, pinch-hit for Tyler Wade with Solano -- a rested Okert got the call, with his .530 OPS allowed to left-handed hitters this season.

“There's outings where you throw it down the middle and that's why [you lose],” Okert said. “I didn't feel like that's really what I was doing today. Sucks that he hit the home run where [Profar] hit it. It snuck out in the right spot of the park.”

It’s a combination of the Twins’ nearly silent Trade Deadline, critical injuries to both Brock Stewart and Justin Topa, and five tight leads to protect in six days that have put them in a spot of needing to dig deeper into their bullpen into their lefty mix of Okert and Thielbar, who have both had their struggles this season.

“Our left-handers know their roles,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “They know they're going to have to go out there and get left-handers out. This year, both of those guys have gotten left-handers out.”

The Twins felt good about their chances when Ober looked to put the finishing touches on an 11-game quality start streak -- the longest in MLB this season -- as he entered the seventh inning having retired 13 in a row. Instead, a broken-bat flare into no man’s land down the third-base line by Jake Cronenworth set up Machado’s drive on one mistake.

And even without Topa and Stewart for much of the season, it’s a bullpen that had helped the team to a 53-3 record when leading after seven innings -- but saw another notable blip on Tuesday.

“We've closed a lot of games out where we had a one-run lead for three, four innings in a row and the guys come in and make good pitches and get outs,” Baldelli said. “Two of the last three days, we haven't gotten that and that's part of a season.”