Twins 10, Guardians 6: Lewis Hits Another Grand Slam as Twins Pour on Runs to Win

[Nate Palmer]

As the Twins open up six games over ten days against Cleveland Monday night, Royce Lewis found the big moment once again. Becoming the first Twin to ever hit a grand slam in back-to-back games as the Twins increase their division lead. 

Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
SP: Kenta Maeda: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (66 pitches, 43 strikes (65.2%)
Home Runs: Royce Lewis (8), Matt Wallner (10), Jorge Polanco (10)
Top 3 WPA: Royce Lewis (0.357), Jorge Polanco (0.278), Matt Wallner (0.119)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

Twins Find Themselves in Familiar Territory Early
Sunday, the Twins found themselves down 5-0 after the 4th inning. After the Cleveland half of the second inning, the Twins would find themselves down once again. This time by a 4-0 margin. In the second inning, the Guardians bats found Kenta Maeda’s pitches with some hard and effective contact. 

The run-scoring was accented by a Gabriel Arias double to put the Guardians up 2-0. Then Bo Naylor flashed his power, hitting a two-run home run to score the third and fourth runs of the inning. By the inning's end, Cleveland had three hits with an exit velocity above 100 mph.     

Royce Lewis Grand Again
A Xzavion Curry Balk and a Donovan Solano double got the Twins on the board first, cutting the lead in half to 4-2. Unfortunately for Solano the inning will not be remembered for his RBI effort. Instead, we will remember the second inning of Monday night’s game for Royce Lewis. Like Sunday, Lewis found himself at bat with the bases full of Twins. Just like Sunday, Lewis launched a pitch over the outfield. This one dropping into the bullpen. 

The grand slam is Lewis’ third of his career. Lewis also became the first Twin in the club’s history to hit grand slams in back-to-back days. Lewis continues his tear after finding his groove earlier this season after some early struggles. Coming into tonight, Lewis had hit for a .352 average and .942 OPS in the past 29 games.

Wallner and Polanco join the party
Over the third and fourth innings, the Guardians and Twins traded runs. With the score 6-5, another rookie in Matt Wallner also went deep. Wallner put the ball into the seats in right-center field for his 10th home run on the season to put the Twins up 7-5. 

Cleveland would get a run back on a pair of doubles off the bats of Arias and Steven Kwan in the fourth inning, making it 7-6. The Twins wouldn’t leave the lead that small for long. Jorge Polanco, during his at-bat, joined the home run parade. He hit his 10th of the season, scored three runs and put the Twins up 10-6. 

Kody Funderburk Makes Debut
Shortly before the game, the Twins announced that Bailey Ober was being sent down to St. Paul while they brought up left reliever Kody Funderburk. After Maeda could only make it through four innings, Funderburk was called upon for his major league debut to protect the Twins 10-6 lead. 

He started his MLB career off by fielding a grounder off the bat of Kole Calhoun. He then recorded his first MLB strikeout by freezing Ramon Laureano. After the strikeout, Funderburk finished the inning the way he started it by fielding an Andres Gimenez grounder to get out of the inning three up, three down. 

Many have been waiting to see Funderburk step on a major league mound, and all of Twins Territory saw why as he completed two perfect innings. If he keeps this performance up, another solid left-handed arm like Funderburk's would help bolster a weak point of the Twins roster all season down the stretch. 

Winder Proves Valuable Again
Over the homestand, Josh Winder has come up big by providing bulk innings twice this homestand. He has provided six innings of shutout pitching. Three coming tonight in an all too important spot after Sunday's extra-inning game and Maeda's short start, which left the bullpen a bit taxed.

What’s Next?
Pablo Lopez will take the mound to attempt to continue the Twins winning ways. While Lopez has been very good for the Twins this season, he will look to rebound after struggling his last time out and giving up a career-high three home runs. Cleveland will counter with rookie Gavin Williams, who will bring with him a 3.52 ERA over 64.0 innings pitched. 

Postgame Interviews

 

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	SUN	TOT
Winder	46	0	0	0	24	70
Jax	15	0	28	0	0	43
Sands	0	32	0	0	0	32
Floro	0	0	12	19	0	31
Funderburk	0	0	0	0	28	28
Pagán	0	0	14	11	0	25
Durán	0	0	12	9	0	21
Thielbar	0	0	10	11	0	21
Balazovic	0	0	0	0	0	0

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[High heat]

Nice to see Funderburk come in and give 2 solid innings., even better to see Winder give 3 solid.  
 

id guess Funderburk is sent back down tomorrow for another fresh arm, 

[Aerodeliria]

It was a nice comeback. Lewis is making it hard to justify keeping him out of the lineup.

I'm a bit concerned by Maeda. I'm afraid he has tweaked something again--note the lack of strikeouts. I'd keep a close eye on him in the next start.

I think I'm still living in the 1980s. I thought relievers got a save when the person in the hole represented the tying run......I guess you can get a save for simply making one pitch regardless of the score...even if the score is like 18-2? That's weird...if it's true...(too lazy to investigate...)

[IndianaTwin]

The bullpen botched it last week, but they now haven’t given up an earned run since the seventh inning last Wednesday. That’s 22.2 innings. 

[IndianaTwin]

9 minutes ago, Aerodeliria said:

It was a nice comeback. Lewis is making it hard to justify keeping him out of the lineup.

I'm a bit concerned by Maeda. I'm afraid he has tweaked something again--note the lack of strikeouts. I'd keep a close eye on him in the next start.

I think I'm still living in the 1980s. I thought relievers got a save when the person in the hole represented the tying run......I guess you can get a save for simply making one pitch regardless of the score...even if the score is like 18-2? That's weird...if it's true...(too lazy to investigate...)

You can also get the save if you go at least three innings, regardless of the score. 

In tonight’s game, Maeda didn’t go five innings, so he couldn’t get the win. That means it’s the scorer’s decision on which reliever most deserved the win. Since Winder went three, it could have gone to him, but in a case like this, where both relievers were effective, the scorer is encouraged to reward each by giving both a win and a save. 

[stringer bell]

12 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

You can also get the save if you go at least three innings, regardless of the score. 

Three inning saves are quite rare. Headrick got one earlier this year and Jax got one last year. Randy Dobnak got one early in 2021 when he gave up something like five runs in the ninth inning, but the Twins were up by double digits. IIRC, Baddoo hit a grand slam. 

[FlyingFinn]

The key hit - Lewis. The key pitcher - Funderburk. Give these young guys a chance. They seem to do well quite often recently.

[wabene]

After watching Fundy get the most of his first chance, I will be less haunted by ghosts of past relievers who for some unknown reason never got that chance. Well at least with the Twins. 

 

All of a sudden Winder is dealing, lol!? I'll take it.

Nice win from these young and explosive Twins. 

[GNess]

Royce Lewis competes with infectious joy.

[jkcarew]

Kody has a chance to be the best Funderburk to ever have played for the Twins.

[Blyleven2011]

Good Game action  tonight , Twins win with double digit runs  ...

Rookie funderburk makes his debut and gets the win ... 

Can I have my cake and eat it too  ...

[Blyleven2011]

10 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

Kody has a chance to be the best Funderburk to ever have played for the Twins.

If I remember right , the other funderburk's first name was Mark  , such a long time ago 

[Blyleven2011]

38 minutes ago, wabene said:

After watching Fundy get the most of his first chance, I will be less haunted by ghosts of past relievers who for some unknown reason never got that chance. Well at least with the Twins. 

 

All of a sudden Winder is dealing, lol!? I'll take it.

Nice win from these young and explosive Twins. 

Don't forget Polanco  , I sure hope he  is 100 % healthy and can help the offense ignite these double digit wins  and a added plus of a 20 game winning streak ...

Lewis is the man !!!

[VivaBomboRivera!]

Sound being heard frequently recently on the shores of Lake Erie...

[Aerodeliria]

58 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

You can also get the save if you go at least three innings, regardless of the score. 

In tonight’s game, Maeda didn’t go five innings, so he couldn’t get the win. That means it’s the scorer’s decision on which reliever most deserved the win. Since Winder went three, it could have gone to him, but in a case like this, where both relievers were effective, the scorer is encouraged to reward each by giving both a win and a save. 

Thanks for clarifying. I knew about the five-inning minimum for a win for starters. I think that has been around for eons, but the other info is new to me.

[BH67]

I'm officially giddy.

[BH67]

1 hour ago, IndianaTwin said:

You can also get the save if you go at least three innings, regardless of the score. 

In tonight’s game, Maeda didn’t go five innings, so he couldn’t get the win. That means it’s the scorer’s decision on which reliever most deserved the win. Since Winder went three, it could have gone to him, but in a case like this, where both relievers were effective, the scorer is encouraged to reward each by giving both a win and a save. 

My favorite three-inning save happened when Texas beat Baltimore 30-3 some years back, Texas's starter went six, followed by a single reliever. That box score is my second favorite, behind only the 1965 game where Bob Uecker homered and drew an intentional walk off Sandy Koufax.

[joemama]

It's my understanding that, barring an injury, a player sent to the minors must stay there 10 days. Is the Sept 1st roster expansion another exception? I'm thinking that may be why Ober was sent down, in which case he'll likely be added back on Sept 1st.

[IndianaTwin]

26 minutes ago, BH67 said:

My favorite three-inning save happened when Texas beat Baltimore 30-3 some years back, Texas's starter went six, followed by a single reliever. That box score is my second favorite, behind only the 1965 game where Bob Uecker homered and drew an intentional walk off Sandy Koufax.

Those sound great. Do you have dates on either? They would be fun to look up.

I guess the Uecker game won’t be hard to find while looking at his home run log. 

[BH67]

Just now, IndianaTwin said:

Those sound great. Do you have dates on either? They would be fun to look up.

I guess the Uecker game won’t be hard to find while looking at his home run log. 

July 24, 1965 Cardinals-Dodgers.

August 22, 2007 Rangers-Orioles.

[Nashvilletwin]

I know we have to play them one game at a time, but let’s sweep these guys and wrap this division up by September 1st.

This team is actually getting fun to watch with the young players making such big contributions.  The team seems to have more life now than at any time this year - and it’s been growing since about the break and as Jeffers, Julien, Wallner and Lewis have started to play bigger roles.  Let’s get Kiriloff back and Martin called up and continue this young guns explosion of energy.

[UK Twin]

I really hope Lewis has a lot more luck staying on the field going forwards because he's got all the tools to be an outside bet for MVP if he stays healthy for an entire season. 

Exciting thing is the Twins have a roster that is only going to get stronger over the next few years. Lewis, Julien and Wallner are all in their rookie years. Then we've got Lee, Jenkins and Rodriguez in the top 100 prospects list. Lee in particular isn't far away from being ready for MLB. 

Then we've got established players like Correa, Lopez and Buxton tied down to long term deals. The rotation will be anchored by Lopez, Ryan and Ober for the foreseeable, possibly Paddack as well. Just need to replace Gray really as a number 2 starter, and add another starter for depth. 

Bullpen needs more depth. The FO must address this in the off season. Look at Baltimore. Their batting line up is no better than ours, arguably not as good and their rotation isn't as good as ours. But their bullpen is incredible - they win so many games for them. 

There is no reason why we can't dominate the AL Central for years to come. I don't see Cleveland or Chicago as serious threats next year - I'd say Detroit will be our closest challengers. But the FO can't get complacent like I feel they did at the trade deadline by not adding a reliever (Floro doesn't count as he replaced Lopez). 

[Doctor Wu]

7 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

If I remember right , the other funderburk's first name was Mark  , such a long time ago 

you got that name right. I used to watch Mark Funderburk mash homers for Orlando when he was on the AA team. He eventually made it to the big league Twins, but not for long. 

[Dave Borton]

8 hours ago, GNess said:

Royce Lewis competes with infectious joy.

I am struck by a young man coming back from two ACL surgeries. Absolutely remarkable and shows a singular, focused dedication to a goal through unparalleled work ethic.

[CRF]

Liking it! Let's do it again tonight.

[bighat]

When it's all said and done, Royce Lewis will be in the same breath with Carew, Puckett, Killebrew and Mauer. 

 

[Doctor Wu]

6 minutes ago, davidborton said:

I am struck by a young man coming back from two ACL surgeries. Absolutely remarkable and shows a singular, focused dedication to a goal through unparalleled work ethic.

Yes indeed. Royce Lewis is suddenly our secret weapon ... well, maybe not much of a secret at this point, but a very effective one. 

[D.C Twins]

Let. All. The. Kids. Play!  Youth has been the spark plug.

Even when they don't perform well, they are infinitely more entertaining than some of the veterans clogging up the roster!

 

[big dog]

Let's not forget one of the veterans, Donovan Solano. He's really had a month- great contact, clutch hits, playing different positions. Nice work!

[Doctor Wu]

1 minute ago, big dog said:

Let's not forget one of the veterans, Donovan Solano. He's really had a month- great contact, clutch hits, playing different positions. Nice work!

Good observation about Solano. He has been a steady and very effective contributor this season.