Royce

Lewis

Lewis got the comeback started with a 421-foot (104.2-mph EV) solo blast off of Michael Wacha in the fifth inning. His bat has started to show signs of life in recent weeks, but he’s still hitting a paltry .234/.311/.426 on the season with 13 homers and 38 RBI in 328 plate appearances.

The Twins made things interesting in the late innings, as Lewis’ three-run shot in the eighth brought Minnesota within one run. Luke Keaschall tied things up with a home run of his own in the ninth inning before the Mariners walked it off for the second straight day. Lewis now has a modest eight-game hitting streak going, though this is his first multi-hit game during this stretch.

Lewis did not start this game, but he did finish it. With the Twins trailing 2-1 and two outs, Lewis blasted a baseball high off the wall in right-center, and it scored a pair to give Minnesota the comeback victory. He also drew a walk earlier in the game, and it improves the 27-year-old’s slash to .215/.300/.387 over 261 at-bats. That’s a disappointing season, but Lewis has had just enough bright spots to justify believing there’s better things ahead.

The Twins were blanked by Jacob Lopez and the Athletics’ bullpen here, but Lewis showed off his speed by stealing two bases. He’s now 9-for-9 as a base stealer this season with three in his last two games and six since returning from a short stint at Triple-A in early June. He’s also enjoyed a serious uptick in bat speed since coming back up and has seven home runs in 39 games.

It’s a rare off-day for the versatile 30-year-old who has become a fixture in the middle of the Twins’ lineup this season. Royce Lewis will slide over and cover second base in his place on Friday night while Victor Caratini starts at first base and will bat sixth for the Twins.

Lewis was held out of Saturday’s lineup due to soreness in his left hamstring. He’s right back in there at second base and batting cleanup against Cubs’ southpaw Shota Imanaga on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Josh Bell takes over at first base in his absence with Twins manager Derek Shelton telling reporters that he’s already feeling better, but will still get an extra day off to rest and recover. Lewis went 0-for-4 during Friday’s second-half opener. He’s hit .258 (33-for-128) with seven homers, 16 RBI and three steals in 33 games since returning to the big leagues back on June 6.

Lewis hit a 419-foot homer off Ryan Johnson in the second and later crushed a liner to left in the seventh. Both hits left the bat at 107-108 mph. He’s 5-for-12 with two homers the last three days, pushing his OPS up to .699. That’s the highest he’s been since late April. He’s hit .270/.328/.508 with seven homers in 31 games since returning from Triple-A.

The Twins had three hits on the day, and Lewis had two of them. The 27-year-old has looked good since returning from the minors, coming into today hitting .255/.320/.455 with five home runs, 13 RBI, and a 12 percent barrel rate since June 6th. He has one of the highest pull air rates in the league over that stretch and is clearly committing to pulling the ball for power. He needs to be added in fantasy leagues while he remains healthy.

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.