Royce is just SECOND Twins rookie to homer in postseason

Twins rookie Royce Lewis hits home runs in AL Wild Card Series

n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType”:”rich”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”Lewis doesn’t need to run hard if he just hits the ball over the fence, anyway.nn“Just look for something up that I can drive,” Lewis said on the ESPN broadcast after his first homer. “Also just relax and breathe. Still out of breath, obviously. It was good. Environment is great here, they are helping us out.”nnAt 24 years, 120 days old, Lewis is the youngest player to homer for the Twins in the postseason since the franchise relocated to Minnesota in 1961. He’s the 10th rookie with a multihomer game in the playoffs, and also the 10th to go deep multiple times in his first career postseason game.”,”type”:”text”},{“__typename”:”Video”,”contentDate”:”2023-10-03T20:38:00Z”,”preferredPlaybackScenarioURL({“preferredPlaybacks”:”mp4AvcPlayback”})”:”https://darkroom-clips.mlb.com/83e07796-1aa4-46de-8ef3-20b8270d98b8.mp4″,”type”:”video”,”description”:”The data behind Royce Lewis’ swing”,”displayAsVideoGif”:true,”duration”:”00:00:09″,”slug”:”visualizing-royce-lewis-s-swing-using-bat-tracking-technology-x4648″,”tags”:[{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”data-visualization”,”title”:”data visualization”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”GameTag”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-668904″,”title”:”Royce Lewis”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:668904″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-142″,”title”:”Minnesota Twins”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:142″},”type”:”team”}],”thumbnail”:{“__typename”:”Thumbnail”,”templateUrl”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/jkt8cdhmgkty870bign9″},”title”:”Visualizing Royce Lewis’ swing using bat tracking technology”,”relativeSiteUrl”:”/video/visualizing-royce-lewis-s-swing-using-bat-tracking-technology-x4648″},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”And Lewis is, of course, no stranger to historic blasts.nnHe most notably set a record with four grand slams in a 20-game span this season, most in club history — which, in hindsight, might well have served as a preview of the postseason heroics to come. Lewis lives for these big moments, having posted a 1.232 OPS in his _career_ with runners in scoring position entering these playoffs.”,”type”:”text”},{“__typename”:”OEmbed”,”html”:”

nn”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType”:”rich”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”Lewis was so hot at the plate in September — slashing .313/.410/.612 with six homers and 23 RBIs — that he was named the AL Rookie of the Month despite having appeared in only 18 games in the season’s final month.”,”type”:”text”},{“__typename”:”Video”,”contentDate”:”2023-10-03T15:21:15.519Z”,”preferredPlaybackScenarioURL({“preferredPlaybacks”:”mp4AvcPlayback”})”:”https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-10/03/078cb07b-eaa9e98f-b328360e-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4″,”type”:”video”,”description”:”Twins infielder Royce Lewis wins AL Rookie of the Month award after crushing six homers and driving in 23 RBIs in the month of September”,”displayAsVideoGif”:false,”duration”:”00:00:30″,”slug”:”lewis-wins-al-rookie-of-the-month”,”tags”:[{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-142″,”title”:”Minnesota Twins”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:142″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-668904″,”title”:”Royce Lewis”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:668904″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”mlb-network”,”title”:”MLB Network”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”mlb-award”,”title”:”MLB Award”,”type”:”taxonomy”}],”thumbnail”:{“__typename”:”Thumbnail”,”templateUrl”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/kamlvzziy8dfntay3jha”},”title”:”Lewis wins AL Rookie of the Month”,”relativeSiteUrl”:”/video/lewis-wins-al-rookie-of-the-month”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”“Royce is the spark plug of this team,” Kyle Farmer said before Game 1. “AL Rookie of the Month in September with six home runs. That shows how well our September went with him in the lineup. He kind of carried the offense.”nnLewis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, lost his 2020 Minor League season to the COVID-19 pandemic, then lost the majority of his ‘21 and ‘22 campaigns to consecutive torn ACLs. The Twins had no expectations of his ability to be an immediate MLB contributor — but Lewis made it worth the wait with a .309/.372/.548 regular season.nnTwins fans have waited since 2004 for their postseason hero. Could Lewis finally be the one?”,”type”:”text”}],”contentType”:”news”,”subHeadline”:null,”summary”:”MINNEAPOLIS — October, meet Royce Lewis.nThe rookie with a flair for the biggest moments continued building his already expansive Twins legacy by homering in the first two postseason plate appearances of his career, with a two-run blast in the first inning and a solo shot in the third off”,”tagline({“formatString”:”none”})”:null,”tags”:[{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-668904″,”title”:”Royce Lewis”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:668904″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-142″,”title”:”Minnesota Twins”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:142″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”alwc”,”title”:”AL Wild Card”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”series-a”,”title”:”Series A”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”postseason”,”title”:”postseason”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”GameTag”,”slug”:”gamepk-748585″,”title”:”2023/10/03 tor@min”,”type”:”game”},{“__typename”:”ContributorTag”,”slug”:”do-hyoung-park”,”title”:”Do-Hyoung Park”,”type”:”contributor”}],”type”:”story”,”thumbnail”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/wygsj45d1ith3kqt9te2″,”title”:”Twins rookie Royce Lewis hits home runs in AL Wild Card Series”}},”Person:668904″:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”:668904},”Team:142″:{“__typename”:”Team”,”id”:142}}} window.adobeAnalytics = {“reportingSuiteId”:”mlbglobal08,mlbcom08″,”linkInternalFilters”:”mlb”} window.globalState = {“tracking_title”:”Major League Baseball”,”lang”:”en”} window.appId = ” /*–>*/

10:20 PM UTC

The rookie with a flair for the biggest moments continued building his already expansive Twins legacy by homering in the first two postseason plate appearances of his career, with a two-run blast in the first inning and a solo shot in the third off Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman to give Minnesota a 3-0 lead in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series at Target Field.

If it seems like Lewis’ magical run through 2023 somehow feels tinged by magic, here’s some more for you:

Lewis is the second Twins player to hit multiple homers in a postseason game, joining Gary Gaetti in Game 1 of the 1987 ALCS. He’s also the second rookie in club history to go deep in the playoffs, joining Scott Leius, who homered in Game 2 of the 1991 World Series.

Twins fans know all too well the significance of those two years: 1987 and ‘91 — those are the only two years in club history in which Minnesota has won the World Series.

Every time the electric rookie gets knocked down, Lewis seemingly comes back stronger than ever — and this was no different. Even 24 hours before first pitch, Lewis and the Twins had expressed uncertainty about his availability for this series at all as he recovered from a left hamstring injury, but Lewis ultimately made the roster in a DH-only role.

Lewis doesn’t need to run hard if he just hits the ball over the fence, anyway.

“Just look for something up that I can drive,” Lewis said on the ESPN broadcast after his first homer. “Also just relax and breathe. Still out of breath, obviously. It was good. Environment is great here, they are helping us out.”

At 24 years, 120 days old, Lewis is the youngest player to homer for the Twins in the postseason since the franchise relocated to Minnesota in 1961. He’s the 10th rookie with a multihomer game in the playoffs, and also the 10th to go deep multiple times in his first career postseason game.

And Lewis is, of course, no stranger to historic blasts.

He most notably set a record with four grand slams in a 20-game span this season, most in club history — which, in hindsight, might well have served as a preview of the postseason heroics to come. Lewis lives for these big moments, having posted a 1.232 OPS in his career with runners in scoring position entering these playoffs.

Lewis was so hot at the plate in September — slashing .313/.410/.612 with six homers and 23 RBIs — that he was named the AL Rookie of the Month despite having appeared in only 18 games in the season’s final month.

“Royce is the spark plug of this team,” Kyle Farmer said before Game 1. “AL Rookie of the Month in September with six home runs. That shows how well our September went with him in the lineup. He kind of carried the offense.”

Lewis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, lost his 2020 Minor League season to the COVID-19 pandemic, then lost the majority of his ‘21 and ‘22 campaigns to consecutive torn ACLs. The Twins had no expectations of his ability to be an immediate MLB contributor — but Lewis made it worth the wait with a .309/.372/.548 regular season.

Twins fans have waited since 2004 for their postseason hero. Could Lewis finally be the one?