Royce Lewis Goes Hitless in Return From IL as Twins Powered to 9-1 Win
Despite failing to reach base in Tuesday’s return at Target Field, the focus was on Royce Lewis playing his first game of 2025, as the Minnesota Twins welcomed their starting third baseman back from injury following a season-opening IL stint.
Lewis, sidelined since spring training due to a left hamstring strain, was activated prior to first pitch versus the Baltimore Orioles and went 0-for-4 without striking out as the DH. It was his first major-league game since last September.
“It feels like Opening Day for me, and I’m really excited for the opportunity,” Lewis told reporters, including MLB.com’s Patrick Donnelly, ahead of Tuesday’s return.
Meanwhile, the rest of Minnesota’s lineup slugged its way to a 9-1 victory over Baltimore, powered by home runs from Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa. Overall, the top four hitters in the order – Buxton, Ryan Jeffers, Ty France and Correa – went a combined 7-for-16, driving in all nine runs.
On the other side of the ball, the Twins were led by a dominant performance from ace Pablo López, who set a new season-high in strikeouts with 11 while twirling five innings of two-hit, one-run ball.
The team has responded nicely after dropping four straight to begin May, with Tuesday’s win marking their third straight victory. And they hope Lewis – whose injury woes have limited him to 153 career games since debuting with Minnesota in 2022 – can help them continue building momentum. That is, of course, if he can stay healthy.
“I’m tired of being the guy that’s on the IL,” Lewis said. “Seems like these injury bugs, they just stick on one guy for a while. Hopefully I got mine off.”
Prior to rejoining the Twins, Lewis completed a Triple-A rehab assignment with St. Paul but largely struggled at the plate, posting a measly .174/.167/.217 slash line with one extra-base hit. The 25-year-old also struck out six times without earning a walk.
“I’ve just got to play a little bit smarter. That’s what some of these other guys I’ve seen play the game at a high level do to be able to play 162 [games],” Lewis said regarding his mindset of avoiding another extended absence. “If I had Bobby Witt [Jr.] speed, I think I’d run a lot, but I’m not there anymore with all the injuries, so it’s just play smart whenever I get in the box.”
Minnesota’s offence also received a boost from Willi Castro, who drew back in the lineup after missing nearly a month with an oblique injury. The 28-year-old utility player, an All-Star last season, went 1-for-3 with a single, walk, and two runs scored in his return Tuesday.
Now that Lewis and Castro are both healthy, the Twins are beginning to resemble a much more complete team compared to a few weeks ago, particularly with the depth of their batting order.
“It definitely lengthens us in a lot of different ways,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We feel like we’re getting stronger and we’re getting back to a place where we put a lot of our regulars on the field on a daily basis.”
The Twins will aim to continue their recent success in Wednesday’s matchup versus the O’s, bidding for a fourth straight win to improve from a 16-20 start to the 2025 season – a record that puts them fourth in the AL Central, ahead of only the last-place Chicago White Sox.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Minda Haas Kuhlmann. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.