Latest news with #RoyceLewis
Washington Post
a day ago
- General
- Washington Post
Castro homers twice and Twins win 10-3, sending Athletics to 8th straight loss and 19th in 20 games
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Willi Castro hit a pair of solo homers and the Minnesota Twins scored four runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to hand the Athletics their eighth straight loss and 19th in their last 20 games, 10-3 on Tuesday night. Trevor Larnach and Castro homered and Byron Buxton added a two-run single in the sixth. Royce Lewis broke an 0-for-32 hitless streak with a bases-loaded two-run double in the seventh.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Health
- New York Times
Energized by struggles, Royce Lewis works to get back on track: ‘Everyone slumps'
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Though he's hitless his last 30 at-bats and was pinch hit for in a key spot a day earlier, Royce Lewis remains upbeat and focused. Out of the lineup on Monday night, the Twins' third baseman said he's concentrating on not over-swinging the bat or thinking too much about his slump. The production — he's batting .127/.195/.197 with one homer in 77 plate appearances — is far from what Lewis envisioned when he worked throughout the offseason to rediscover the star form he lost down the stretch last season. Advertisement But Lewis recognizes slumps will happen. And for those of you who love to mock the statement he previously made about how he mentally handles slumps — 'I don't do the slump thing' — Lewis isn't afraid to admit he's in the middle of one. 'What I was trying to say mentally was I don't go into 'I'm 0-for-20 whatever,'' Lewis said. 'I go into today thinking, 'It's Luis Severino. I've faced him in the past. I feel good. I know his sinker and his four-seam.' And that's my mindset. That's what I was trying to say. So I'll say it: I slump. A lot of people slump. Everyone slumps. Hopefully, I play long enough I slump 100 more times. That's my goal. I'm very excited to keep pushing through and have another opportunity.' Lewis is working hard to prepare himself for the next chance. He arrived at Sutter Health Park and took early batting practice on the field with his hitting coaches. Then he waited for the players in Monday's lineup to hit indoors and worked around their schedules. Later, he took on-field batting practice with his teammates. Much of the work is focused on his stride and remaining grounded, hitting coach Matt Borgschulte said. Lewis also noted he's trying to get back on track mentally. 'He was in here hitting some challenging shapes and some good stuff to make sure he's staying on the ball as much as he can,' Borgschulte said. 'Staying grounded in his legs. Getting back to the step where he's kind of in rhythm with it. I'm excited to see how things progress. All we can do is continue to put in good work and hope that the results will continue to get better. With a guy with that much talent, it's just a matter of time before things start going his way.' The Twins believe things will turn for Lewis and cite statistical evidence to suggest it should. His 90.2 mph exit velocity is above his career average and up three miles per hour from last season, when Lewis endured the first real slump of his career. Lewis's 15.6 percent strikeout rate is the lowest of his career, and his pitch selection has never been better. Advertisement The Twins aren't oblivious to his slump. They recognize their young slugger is off. But they also can look at his unseemly .138 batting average on balls in play, which is 157 points below his career mark entering the season, and know some course correction is due. 'He's had a couple off days in there, and I think those are good to be able to get those resets and dig in a little bit more deeply with the coaching staff to just get going here,' general manager Jeremy Zoll said. 'I'm very confident that there's still an elite player in there, and there are brighter days probably right around the corner for him.' Twins manager Rocco Baldelli is encouraged to hear the honest quote from Lewis about slumps. He likes the way Lewis is working. He's even more pleased with how Lewis handles himself during a trying time, including being pulled back for a pinch hitter down a run late in Sunday's loss to Seattle (Lewis said he wasn't offended and rooted for Brooks Lee). 'When you're dealing with struggles, looking at them straight on is a good thing,' Baldelli said. 'I'm glad that in some ways he's looking at it like that, because the next step is, what do you do about it? And the next step is attack it with work, and we're at that point now, and that's where he is, and that's where I want him to be.' Ideally, Lewis would prefer hitting fourth and attempting to assault the area beyond the fences at the A's temporary home, which already is known to be hitter-friendly. For the time being, he's focused on righting himself. Lewis physically feels great. His slump isn't preventing him from enjoying the Twins' winning ways and the lifestyle. He's unclear why his average bat speed is down more than two miles per hour from the 2023 season, one of the biggest drops in the majors. But he's seen enough players go through slumps — and feels prepared to battle this one after bouncing back from multiple severe injuries — to think he won't recover. Advertisement 'If anything, right now I'm over-swinging,' Lewis said. 'I'm swinging way too hard, and then it feels like your head starts bouncing up and down, and you start missing pitches you normally want to hit. I'm trying to slow it down a little bit. … I've overcome all those (injuries). It gives me the peace of mind that this is just baseball. Hitters go through this. It's very normal. It's something I'm going to overcome again.' One prominent Twins prospect is ready to come off the injured list, while another is headed for the sidelines. Zoll confirmed Emmanuel Rodriguez, whom The Athletic's Keith Law rated the No. 21 prospect in January, could miss anywhere from two to four weeks with a right hip strain he felt when chasing down a fly ball in Omaha on Friday night. Rodriguez is batting .232/.400/.392 with four homers in 160 plate appearances this season. Meanwhile, Walker Jenkins, whom Law rated the No. 4 prospect, was set to return to action for the first time since April 6, but his team's Florida Complex League game was rained out. After playing in two April games, Jenkins has missed nearly two months with a sprained ankle he originally suffered before minor-league spring training began.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Royce Lewis is Back and Better Than Ever… on Defense
Royce Lewis didn't go north with the Minnesota Twins out of Spring Training. That's because, as Grapefruit League play was wrapping up, he suffered a hamstring strain that cost him 34 regular season games. From there, the start of the Twins season only got worse, as they stumbled out of the games to a 7-15 start. It wasn't until their recent 13-game winning streak that Rocco Baldelli & Co. finally crawled out of that early hole they dug for themselves. Now comfortably back above .500, at 27-22 entering Thursday's off day, Lewis is back in the MN Twins lineup and seemingly getting better with every game that he plays. Advertisement But Royce Lewis has already proven, for the most part, that he can hit big league pitching. It's what he has done to fix his defensive problems at third base that is turning heads, not just inside the fanbase, but in the Twins' dugout as well. Royce Lewis playing great defense for Minnesota Twins…? Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Royce put in the additional work this offseason, trying to improve arm angles, among other things, to try and improve the throwing errors that have hindered him since arriving in the big leagues. Through 14 regular season games since returning from the injured list, Lewis suddenly looks like a new guy with his glove on his hand. Advertisement One guy who has taken notice of the former No. 1 pick's improvements at the hot corner is Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, who told the Star Tribune's Bobby Nightengale that he and the other coaches have absolutely taken notice of Lewis' increased competency on defense.. 'We've all been really impressed. All of us in the dugout, seeing the way that he's making his initial decisions and his reads — that's where a lot of those plays are made. In the moment after the ball's hit, in the first split-second which direction you're going to go in and how you're going to attack the ball, he's been making a lot of really good decisions.' Rocco Baldelli – Star Tribune Last season, the MN Twins bounced Royce Lewis around the diamond. He didn't like the idea of playing second base. Thus, he was all but handed the hot corner prior to spring training, over Brooks Lee, who had proven to be a much better defender at third base, prior to 2025. Lewis credits both infield coach Ramon Borrego (who Lewis worked with in the minors) and St. Paul manager Toby Gardenhire for helping him get to where he needs to be, especially on defense. Royce says he's so confident in his glove right now that he feels 'like a true shortstop playing third base'. '[They] have really helped me get into a position where I feel comfortable again. I'm happy for it, man. I love being an athlete. I feel like a true shortstop playing third base.' Royce Lewis – Star Tribune Advertisement Minnesota needs Lewis to develop into a plus defender at third base, if their current and future roster makeup is going to settle like the organization believes it will. Defense is something he can contribute even when the bat isn't quite there. Like now, as he tries to find his swing, following a month and a half in the IL. Advanced metrics back up defensive eye test After going hitless in his first five games, Lewis is batting .265 with a .736 OPS in his last nine games. He launched his first home run against Milwaukee, over the weekend, and would have tied the game with his second, had he not been robbed by outfielder Jackson Chourio, later in that contest. But we know Royce will find it offensively. Until then, defense is key. Last season, Royce Lewis was worth -2 DRS (defensive runs saved) at third base (411 innings). In 2023, he finished with a +2 DRS, in roughly the same number of innings. Through just 84 innings in 2025, he's already accumulated +2 DRS. His 1 OAA (outs above average) is impressive too. You don't need advanced metrics to appreciate the way Lewis has flashed the glove since returning from the injured list. Minnesota needs that from him as well considering Brooks Lee is filling in for Carlos Correa at shortstop. Lewis has never played more than 416 innings of defense at any one position during a given season. His injury history has held him back from doing so. If he can remain healthy the rest of the way, Minnesota may have a real asset at the hot corner on their hands.
CBS News
19-05-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Twins' 13-game win streak ends in 2-5 loss to the Brewers
Jackson Chourio robbed Royce Lewis of a potential tying homer in the eighth inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers ended the Minnesota Twins' 13-game winning streak with a 5-2 victory on Sunday. Isaac Collins and Sal Frelick each drove in two runs to help the Brewers end the second-longest win streak in Twins history. The Twins won 15 straight in 1991, a season that ended with a World Series title. Minnesota trailed 4-2 when Lewis, who already had hit his first homer of the season in the fourth inning, sent a long drive to left-center against Nick Mears with a runner on second. Chourio timed his jump perfectly and reached his gloved hand over the wall to make the catch. Rhys Hoskins had a sacrifice fly in the bottom half, and Trevor Megill worked the ninth for his sixth save. Frelick singled home Christian Yelich in the second. That snapped Minnesota's string of 34 straight shutout innings, a Twins record. Milwaukee extended the lead to 4-0 in the third. Collins hit a bases-loaded, two-out single and Frelick added an RBI single. Twins starter Zebby Matthews (0-1) came up from the minors and gave up four runs and five hits in three innings. Milwaukee's Freddy Peralta (5-3) allowed one run over five innings. After cutting Milwaukee's lead to 4-1 in the fourth, the Twins loaded the bases with two outs. Peralta ended the threat by retiring Ryan Jeffers on a fly to right. The Brewers have never gone scoreless in a three-game series, though they've been shut out in the first two games of each of their last two. They won 9-5 at Cleveland after falling 5-0 and 2-0 The Twins start a three-game home series against Cleveland. Monday's scheduled starters are Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (4-1, 3.72 ERA) and Guardians lefty Logan Allen (2-2, 3.70). The Brewers begin a three-game home series against Baltimore. Monday's pitchers are Brewers right-hander Quinn Priester (1-2, 4.59) and Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer (3-5, 5.36). ___ AP MLB:
Washington Post
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Slumping at the plate, Jackson Chourio makes a game-saving catch for the Brewers
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio has gone through some adversity this season as the 21-year-old tries to follow up a standout rookie year. The game-saving catch he made Sunday might just be the spark he needs. Chourio raced to his right, reached his gloved hand over the wall in left-center field and robbed Royce Lewis of a potential tying homer in the eighth inning of the Brewers' 5-2 victory that snapped the Minnesota Twins' 13-game winning streak. 'That's the first home-run robbery I've ever had,' said Chourio, who indicated through an interpreter that he hadn't even accomplished that feat during his meteoric run through the minor leagues. 'Just to be able to show the ability to do that, I'm happy about that.' Chourio played center field in the minors but typically was a corner outfielder last year, when he batted .275 with 21 homers and 79 RBIs to finish third in the NL rookie of the year balloting. His big season came after he signed an eight-year, $82 million contract, the largest given to a player without any major league experience. He has played center more often this year because of injuries to Blake Perkins and Garrett Mitchell. It hasn't been an entirely smooth transition. Chourio committed his first error in the majors on May 9 as Tampa Bay's José Caballero hit a single that got past him, enabling Taylor Walls to score from first and Caballero to end up on third in a game the Brewers lost 4-3 . Three nights later, Chourio misplayed a drive from Cleveland's Gabriel Arias and allowed the ball to go over his left shoulder, resulting in a three-run double that opened the scoring in a 5-0 defeat . He came through on Sunday, helping the Brewers get a needed win after they were shut out four times in a five-game stretch. 'Mistakes that happened in the past are mistakes,' Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta said. 'As a player, you should just work and get better, and then you can do something big in the next couple of days. That's exactly what happened. Today, he saved the game.' The Twins trailed 4-2 and had a runner on second when Chourio made his remarkable play, prompting Lewis to tip his helmet on the way to the dugout. 'If he doesn't catch that, I think we win the game for sure,' Lewis said. Chourio also showed he isn't letting his struggles at the plate carry over to the field. He's hitless in his last 18 at-bats and had grounded out just before the catch. Chourio is batting .242 with a .260 on-base percentage, seven homers, 25 RBIs and just four walks. That's not the type of start that was expected of Chourio after he closed his rookie season by hitting .455 with two homers in the Brewers' NL wild card series loss to the New York Mets. He continues to come through in big moments — this time with his glove. 'For him to come up with that is pretty darn special and shows you what we've got,' Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. 'He's 21 years old and going through the ups and downs of being in the big leagues, the pressure, everything that's been put on him. And for him to do that, it just goes to show you. That's huge.' ___ AP MLB:
