Royce Lewis hits solo homer in loss to D-backs

The Twins led 7-0 heading to the eighth in this one, but the Rockies stormed back to take an 8-7 lead in the ninth. They evened it up with an RBI single by Byron Buxton in the ninth, then Lewis played the role of hero with his walk-off knock off of Jimmy Herget in the 10th. Lewis finished the evening 3-for-5 and is now hitting .217/.294/.377 with seven homers, 22 RBI and five stolen bases on the season.

Lewis had a two-run single in Tuesday’s rout, but that was his only hit to go along with seven strikeouts in 13 at-bats in the series in Texas. As the rest of the Twins thrived in the three-game sweep, his OPS dropped 41 points from .680 to .639.

It’s notable that Lewis is back at the hot corner for the first time since returning to the big leagues earlier this month, especially with top prospect Kaelen Culpepper seemingly on the verge of arriving as the club’s shortstop of the future. The 27-year-old infielder has torn the cover off the ball, hitting .379 (11-for-29) with three homers, five RBI and one steal across eight games during that span. There’s some appeal here for fantasy managers, especially those trying to replace superstar José Ramírez.

It was a good day for Lewis, but the last at-bat was a bust; up with two on and one out in the bottom of the eighth, he swung at the first pitch he saw, a JoJo Romero changeup that was just off the plate, and produced a routine double play to half the Twins’ rally. Still, Lewis has now hit in six straight. He’s 10-for-26 with three homers and two doubles since returning to the majors.

Lewis has reached base in every game since his recall and raised his seasonal line from .163/.261/.279 to .189/.281/.320 in just five games. A pre-emptive pickup probably wouldn’t be the worst use of a roster spot if you’re desperate at third base. He’s also played games at first and second base since being recalled, so he looks like he’ll eventually get some positional flexibility for fantasy purposes.

Lewis was on a tear at Triple-A before being recalled over the weekend, and he now has his first long ball back in the bigs. He has started all four contests since returning, including one at second base and three at first base. It could lead to some favorable multi-position eligibility, but what matters most for fantasy is whether he hits.

Martin, who is hitting .193 (21-for-109) with one homer and four steals over his last 30 games, has been moved to the top of the order to face Tigers lefty Framber Valdez with Byron Buxton hitting second. The other notable lineup development for Minnesota involves Royce Lewis making his third consecutive start at first base.

Lewis made his first career appearance at the position late during Saturday’s game and now will draw his first start there on Sunday. The 27-year-old slugger was lighting the world on fire at the Triple-A level once again before going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout during his return to the Twins on Saturday.

Lewis made his second career start at second base and, after some shuffling, his first major league appearance at first today. The error came on what should have been a routine double play turn, but Lewis, still a novice at second, didn’t realize how much time he had with his back to the runner and made a bad throw. Of course, that still wouldn’t have been an error, since the double play can’t be assumed, but the ball went into the dugout and allowed the batter to advance to second. On offense, Lewis had a weak groundout, a walk and a weak popout before coming up with two on and two outs while down by one run in the bottom of the ninth and striking out looking against Alex Lange. It’s all a good reminder that there might not ever have been a bigger skill gap between Triple-A and the majors than there is right now. Still, Lewis will surely get another chance Sunday.

Lewis returns to the big leagues after nearly a month at Triple-A, where he tore the cover off the ball, hitting .333 (20-for-60) with 10 homers across 15 games. The gap between Triple-A and the big leagues feels wider than it has in recent memory, which makes projecting immediate success for Lewis a challenge as he returns to the majors. He’s clearly regained some confidence at the plate, which is an important variable. He’s expected to see time at third base, second base, first base and DH moving forward. At a minimum, Lewis is worthy of a speculative add in deeper mixed leagues on the chance he can translate his strong Triple-A run into sustained success at the highest level.