MINNEAPOLIS — The guy with “Dan Campbell vibes” is finally seeing Royce Lewis produce an upbeat atmosphere of his own.As he discussed Friday night’s chaotic victory, a win in which his team had to rally three times before earning a 9-8 decision over the St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins manager Derek Shelton was genuinely excited for his first baseman.For Shelton and the organization, there’s been no bigger goal than to unlock the potential in Lewis that’s been absent for the better part of two years. One of Shelton’s first acts last November was to visit Lewis in Texas to assess the situation, a meeting that couldn’t have gone better and resulted in Lewis describing his new manager as having an aura similar to Campbell, the Detroit Lions head coach.Now, Lewis — who returned from a demotion to Triple A last Saturday — is demonstrating that those efforts might not have been for naught. Not only did Lewis extend a modest hitting streak to five games, but he also fired up the Twins dugout with a go-ahead sacrifice fly and later delivered a jaw-dropping tying homer in the eighth.
LET'S ROLLLLLLLLL ROYCE pic.twitter.com/OKlvRyD9o4
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) June 13, 2026Two batters after Lewis tied the score, Brooks Lee crushed what proved to be the game-winning homer.“(The energy is) palpable,” Shelton said. “It’s the first time I’ve seen it. Early in the year, he was trying to find his way. And then I think sometimes you need confidence back. And, again, I’m going to reiterate, he went down and did everything he needed to do, forced his way back here. Now he’s got some confidence, and I think we’re seeing it.”What Lewis has is a timing mechanism that was installed during a 13-game spell at Triple-A St. Paul and a belief that he’s a formidable opponent once again. During his demotion, Lewis began to lift and plant his back foot — a move also used by Nolan Arenado and Mike Trout — which allows him to get into his legs and feel athletic at the plate.Before his two ACL injuries (in 2021 and 2022), Lewis employed a leg kick to time pitchers, a move he couldn’t replicate as easily after suffering the two devastating injuries. Once he removed it, Lewis said he kept trying to simplify his swing and got a little further away from himself with each adjustment.But after adding the back foot movement in his drill work and feeling comfortable enough, Lewis started incorporating it into games. Suddenly, all the work he did trying to feel right began to result in hitting rockets.In 13 games at Triple A, Lewis batted .340 and hit eight home runs with 19 RBIs. The question was whether it would carry over to the big leagues. Six games in, Lewis is continuing to perform.After his 444-foot homer in Detroit on Wednesday night created what Byron Buxton described as a dugout celebration unlike any the Twins have had in a while, Lewis delivered even more fun Friday.Lewis, who singled twice in Thursday’s 11-0 loss, flew out to the wall in center in his first at-bat, a 389-foot drive that would have been a home run in six ballparks. Three innings later, Lewis extended his hitting streak with a single to left field. He came around to score on Tristan Gray’s RBI single as the Twins cut a two-run St. Louis lead in half.An inning later, Lewis followed Josh Bell’s tying RBI double with a sac fly to left-center. After rounding first base, Lewis excitedly clapped his hands as he retreated to the dugout with the Twins in front 4-3.But Lewis saved his best for the eighth inning, rallying his team after the Twins’ bullpen struggled once again. An inning after Kody Clemens tied the score with a three-run shot, Lewis ripped a first-pitch fastball from Ryne Stanek into the second deck in left to tie the score again.Since returning from Triple A, Lewis is hitting .364/.400/1.082 in 25 trips to the plate.“I finally can go in there and feel comfortable, and that was what I was searching for,” Lewis said. “I can go 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. As long as I’m feeling comfortable, I’m confident in the next day going in. I was just searching too much, so that’s what I feel is the best thing right now.“It’s just nice to feel like what I think I’m doing is actually happening,” he continued. “It was just weird. I was just looking for a why. I think the why was just I wasn’t comfortable. Now I’m back to being comfortable, and it makes it easier.”The difference is noticeable in multiple ways.Before his demotion, Lewis was swinging at everything, and the strikeouts began to pile up. A player who entered the season with a 21 percent career strikeout rate was suddenly whiffing 34 percent of the time.Since returning, Lewis has struck out three times in 25 trips to the plate.But it’s not just how Lewis is carrying himself at the plate that is different. As part of his path back to the majors, the Twins asked Lewis to play first base and second base. Being more versatile makes it easier for the Twins to pencil Lewis’ name into the lineup.Lewis, who balked at a similar request in August 2024, didn’t hesitate to say yes this time.Lewis has started all six Twins games since he returned, with four coming at first base and two beginning at second base. He is looking to help out the struggling Twins however he can and has handled the requests with an easy smile.“It was awesome to see him go down there on a tear and be the player he is,” Twins pitcher Joe Ryan said. “He’s doing a good job, has had a great attitude throughout the whole process. I think that’s the big thing. Everyone down there was super happy to have him there. Obviously, you want him to be doing his best up here. But he came in with a good attitude and carried that through, and he’s shown up and done the same thing. … It’s good to see him have his success.”Lewis said he liked the looks he saw on his teammates’ faces as they prepared to bat in the bottom of the seventh. Minutes earlier, the Twins bullpen coughed up a one-run lead, as three walks helped create a four-run rally for St. Louis. Even so, Lewis could see the Twins weren’t done, an attitude that persisted throughout the rest of the game.“It’s so fun to see these guys continue to fight,” Lewis said. “It was special, and just glad to be a part of it, man. That was really fun.”Twins injury newsTwins general manager Jeremy Zoll announced that top prospect Walker Jenkins (left shoulder sprain) is expected to start a minor-league rehab assignment at Single-A Fort Myers on Saturday. Jenkins hasn’t played since running into the outfield wall May 3.Zoll also said Kendry Rojas (left elbow inflammation) would throw a live batting practice at Fort Myers on Saturday and Mick Abel (right elbow inflammation) will participate in a light bullpen at Target Field. Abel is likely to have at least one more minor-league rehab start after pitching three scoreless innings for St. Paul on Wednesday night.Ryan Jeffers (broken left hamate bone) is participating in catching drills and started taking dry swings two days ago, Zoll said. The Twins still haven’t established a timeline for his return.Pitcher Bailey Ober (right elbow inflammation) played catch for a second day in a row Friday after a 10-day shutdown. Zoll said Ober is at least a week away from throwing off a mound.Pitcher David Festa (right shoulder impingement) is playing long toss and is roughly 10 days away from a potential bullpen session, Zoll said.Zoll also said prospect James Ellwanger (right elbow sprain) had a setback last week and is scheduled to be assessed by Dr. Keith Meister on June 23. The team anticipates the pitcher will need surgery, Zoll said.
