Twins takeaways: Hard-hit luck, Royce Lewis' slump, Carson McCusker's moment, injury updates

New York Times

2 days ago

TAMPA, Fla. — For a team that scored 22 runs over its past eight games including Wednesday's shutout loss, the Minnesota Twins sound anything but defeated.
No, they're not happy with the results. Yes, they understand they must do more to win games. But as they took stock of a 5-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Twins recognized they deserved better after suffering their first series defeat since a month ago in Cleveland.
Advertisement
Although they've experienced plenty of good fortune in several recent victories over a 17-5 hot stretch, Lady Luck wasn't on the Twins' side Wednesday, which was only the fourth time they've been shut out this season and the first since April 24.
Despite metrics showing the balls they hit carried a .308 expected batting average, the Twins finished with six base hits. The team's 15 hard-hit balls, 11 of which found gloves accounting for 12 outs, tied for its fifth-best output of the season.
'We had a tough time getting it going,' Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. 'I will say, the first three or four innings, we hit line drives all over the field. The name of the game is obviously scoring runs, but the way you score runs is by getting base runners and hitting line drives. We hit a ton of line drives, and they amounted to zilch. That's life in this game and it's going to happen sometimes. We had some days we didn't blast the ball all around the park, get a few base runners, make it happen and score a bunch of runs. (Wednesday) was the opposite.'
Line drives were plentiful against Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen. So were balls hit right at defenders.
The Twins produced two hard-hit balls in each of the game's first four innings, but only one went for a hit: Trevor Larnach's leadoff single in the first. They had another hard-hit ball in the fifth, Royce Lewis' ground-ball double play, and none in the sixth.
Rasmussen exited with one hit and one walk allowed and five strikeouts across six scoreless innings. The hard-hit misfortune continued against the Tampa Bay bullpen as the Twins singled twice to start the seventh and eighth innings, but had two more balls hit 95 mph or harder that found gloves, which killed each rally.
Of the 25 balls put in play by the Twins, 15 were hard-hit.
'I thought we stayed through the middle of the field very well as a team,' Lewis said. 'The at-bats are competitive. We're always one swing away or we're putting up good at-bats. We've just got to get a little more runners in scoring position and we'll do that eventually.'
The Twins might be far more concerned about their current stretch if not for several factors.
During the eight-game run, the Twins went 4-4. Their pitchers yielded 30 runs during the span, about 3.8 per game. The poor output has come against Kansas City and Tampa Bay, two teams whose staff ERAs are better than the league average. The other, Cleveland, always plays tightly contested games against the Twins.
Advertisement
The Twins hope Matt Wallner and Byron Buxton can return to the lineup soon from injury. Adding one or both should provide a boost.
'There will be better days than we just experienced,' Baldelli said. 'If we have the same offensive game the next time we step on the field, we're going to score a few runs. There is no way we're going to hit line drives and not score runs.'
Here are several more Twins takeaways after a hot, outdoor series in Tampa.
• Lewis is taking his current 0-for-24 slump hard. He used a more open stance on Wednesday simply to try to have fun. In that sense, Lewis acknowledged an 0-for-4 effort in which he had a 106.3 mph lineout, a 103.4 mph double play, a 97.2 mph flyout and a 99.7 mph flyout made the hitless day a little easier to accept.
Lewis was blunt as he explained a frustrating stretch that has him hitting .138/.200/.215 on the season.
'I'm at a point where the hope is gone,' Lewis said. 'I just do my job as best as I can. If I keep hitting the ball hard, they say it's going to find a hole, but I haven't seen it yet. … Feels like a Wiffle Ball game right now truly because you know how the Wiffle Ball stays up? That's what my ball feels like. I'm hitting it. It feels good and it's just staying up a little bit. Hopefully, I can produce for the team soon.'
• After he played nine innings in right field Tuesday at Triple-A St. Paul, Wallner is scheduled to play nine innings as the Saints' designated hitter Wednesday and nine more in right field Thursday. If he completes the run without a setback, Wallner, who has been out since April 16 with a left hamstring strain, could join the Twins when they open a three-game series in Seattle on Friday.
Through Tuesday, Wallner was 6-for-16 with a double, three homers and seven RBIs during his rehab assignment.
Advertisement
• Out with a concussion, Buxton took batting practice on the field with his teammates Wednesday. Even though he hasn't played since May 15 in Baltimore, the Twins' center fielder is unlikely to require a rehab assignment, as long as he returns to the lineup soon. The Twins are optimistic Buxton is on the verge of returning from the concussion list.
• Known for his raw power and prodigious homers, even Carson McCusker found it funny his first major-league hit was a bloop single. After an 0-for-5 stretch with four strikeouts to start his career, McCusker hit a 66.7 mph blooper to right for a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning.
Congratulations to Carson McCusker on his first Major League hit!!! 👏 pic.twitter.com/KbkRSVykNe
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 28, 2025
McCusker has made only two starts since his May 18 promotion. He said learning how to prepare for a pinch-hit appearance is a work in progress.
'It's definitely a learning curve for sure, at first not really knowing,' McCusker said. 'I hadn't really done it in my career before. Just trying to figure it out, knowing when to go get ready in the cage, how to do it and kind of keep the body hot. Over the past week or so, I've learned how to do it a little better.'
McCusker eventually plans to give his first hit ball, which sat in a Ziploc bag on Baldelli's desk after Wednesday's game, to his father.
(Top photo of Carlos Correa: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)