Make It Official! Twins 4, Blue Jays 3: Royce Lewis Undoes That Slump Thing

[RpR]

2 hours ago, CRF said:

I sure hope that Lewis undoes the "slump thing" with the clutch HR today. I guess we'll see if that's the case in the next series with TB. We definitely could use his bat.

That actually applies to most of the Twins.

[Parfigliano]

2 hours ago, cmoss84 said:

Agreed...but so is Miguel Sano.

Is he even an MLB player anymore?

[cmoss84]

18 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Is he even an MLB player anymore?

I guess my point was...these guys have the ability to hit. But it's easier said then done. Consistency is what keeps guys in the bigs...it is never a given. 

[wabene]

Nice win, had to have it. Lewis at 2nd who'd a thunk it, lol? Didn't even get hurt. He didn't get all of that one, but he got it out and let's hope he gets rolling. Ober bounced back and was in control. Now let start stacking the series wins again.

[wabene]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Did Royce get a fielding chance at 2B?

Plenty, he looked fine and his arm played better there IMO.

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, wabene said:

THIS IS NOT A PLAYOFF TEAM!!!!! 😭 

Neither were the Rangers at this time last year.  Funny game.

[Parfigliano]

3 hours ago, wabene said:

THIS IS NOT A PLAYOFF TEAM!!!!! 😭 

Neither was the TC when they won it all.  Its a tournament.  Get in and anything can happen.

[wabene]

17 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

Neither were the Rangers at this time last year.  Funny game.

 

2 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Neither was the TC when they won it all.  Its a tournament.  Get in and anything can happen.

Obviously my joke flopped, lol. They are in a good spot, but they have to get back on track.

[JD-TWINS]

4 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

It's great to see Lewis being Lewis. Ober pitched a great 1 run, 1 hit, 8 Ks 6 innings game. Not to take anything from Jax but IMO if a pitcher gives up a tie with 2 runs in 1 inning, doesn't deserves the win over an Ober performance.

How about the number of crimes he’s come on and done a fantastic job with zero credit? Lopez threw 7 2/3 Friday and left with 2 guys on - Jax comes in & throws 3 pitches to extinguish any momentum the Jays may have had.

Lopez the win - Duran the save - Jax the key out!

I get he didn’t do well today but I respect what he’s done & the great results 90+ % of the time he enters a game.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

I'm thrilled they won the game, but for the first seven innings, that might have been the most pathetic offensive performance of the year.  It was a bad omen when Willie lead off going 3-2 with the starting pitcher yet to throw a strike and then getting rung up on a pitch well outside.  The Blue Jays starting pitcher had probably the worst stuff I've seen from a starter all year and he still managed to not give up any runs.  Just pathetic AB's all day long.  Thank God Royce saved the day on a hanging slider.   

I really hope Buxton's hip can get comfortable soon.  SMH

[S Bart]

It sounds as if Buxton may be playing in St. Paul this week and return for the weekend KC series. It would be nice to have a healthy Buxton back on track. He could possibly even post his most games played in a season. It is my understanding that he currently has appeared in 90 games. If he passes 92, it will be the most since 2017 when he played in 140. 

[SwainZag]

Just wanted to share this.  Was out playing golf during the game.  Started streaming it on my phone in the cart in the 8th, almost immediately before Jax blew up.  Almost turned it off.  I definitely had to apologize to the guys in my group when Royce homered, totally yelled in a friend's backswing off the tee.  Worth it.  

[SwainZag]

I'm not sure you can have two guys who enjoy excelling on the field more than Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis.   Really hope Buck gets back out there soon.  Since Correa has been here, I wonder how many times Buxton, Lewis and Correa have appeared in the lineup together.  It has to be rare.  It would be pretty awesome to have the trio together down the stretch.  One can hope!

Edit:  I found it!  
The Twins' Big Three — all top-two picks out of high school in their respective draft classes — have more questions about their health than their talent. They all had a stint on the injured list earlier this year, and they've been in the same lineup together only 22 times over the past two seasons.

The blank part is 22.  22 times in two seasons.  

[Vanimal46]

Series win with a -12 run differential! All according to plan on the spreadsheets! 

[Whitey333]

It's about time for " I don't do slumps" Lewis to deliver.  He like the team needs to build on it. If Lewis goes on an 0-16 slump then yesterday means little.  Team needs some consistency this month.  Fact is the team played poorly yesterday until Lewis heroics gave them a much needed win.  The good thing is we won 2 of 3 from Blue Jay's.  Negative is we are still only 4-9 in last 13 games.  Twins need to get on one of those 7-3 or 8-2 runs.  Go Twins

[jmlease1]

Ober's change up looked really good. He'd had a little bit of a wobbly August, so good to see him have a strong outing, though the 1st inning HR made me a little nervous.

Nice to have Royce get the bomb to win it. Made up nicely for not being able to get the big hit in the first with the bases loaded. Need him to get locked in again.

I'm ready to see Varland slide into the bullpen again and give them a real boost, but it's understandable after Matthews awful turn that they're not ready to move him in yet.

[Riverbrian]

7 hours ago, SwainZag said:

Just wanted to share this.  Was out playing golf during the game.  Started streaming it on my phone in the cart in the 8th, almost immediately before Jax blew up.  Almost turned it off.  I definitely had to apologize to the guys in my group when Royce homered, totally yelled in a friend's backswing off the tee.  Worth it.  

I certainly understand the excitement of the homer and I also understand the etiquette required in that situation.

However... Yelling "Noonan" because Lewis homered will certainly be hard to explain to your buddy. 

[Blyleven2011]

I'm a fan of Ober  , the batters are not a fan of his though , Ober has had a few hiccups this year but has had a solid year  ,,even last year until he got tired he had solid starts ... 

Royce Lewis hits a game changing homerun  , nice to get runners on base and then get a three run homerun  , not a fan of those solo homeruns  , the batters have to do better and make adjustments at getting on base and then get those game changing blast ...

Lewis carried the twins in a twins win  ...

Nice comeback fight that ended in an exciting win ...

[Shaitan]

This team always follows a terrible game with a win.

This team always comes back in the late innings, even if they end up losing.

This team has resilience.

[LambchoP]

We really needed a win and series win, so it was good we got that. Hopefully Lewis can heat up a bit and carry out lineup until we get our guys back. It'd be a great time for this lineup to get hot. Really important weekend series against KC coming up. I'm not getting my hopes up, but I am hoping we can at least get Buxton back for the KC series. Those will be important games. Hopefully if Correa comes back at all this year, it'll be in time for the big series at CLE 

[chinmusic]

57 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

 If I am understanding it correctly, it has little to no value to me

I agree with you. It's rather vague, and subjective. What is the time frame for the "trends"?

Pablo is on a 20 plus scoreless inning streak, yet is rated medium impact, along with Matthews (!), as well as SWR and Festa. Huh?  

The layout is a tad cumbersome, too. I think it should be ditched.

G|ive me the concise bullpen usage chart any day. Now that I like!

 

 

 

[JD-TWINS]

15 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Couldn't watch the games, but doesn't, Ober pitched well, Lewis was a hero, and we won a much needed game!

Does this get Lewis comfortable and confident again? MLB is fluid over a long season. He's due to ride a high tide again.

Despite the blow-up Saturday, Festa and Matthews are top young arms who have certainly flashed. Their ML time right now is huge for 2025, but for right now, we just need them to be solid/competitive for September. 

Without Buxton or Correa, the offense still has enough talent to be better than they've been lately. Its almost as if everyone got cold at the same time. Pressure? Lee back helps the flexibility of the lineup, and HOPEFULLY his bat is helpful as well.

Okert and Richards gone might be a positive through subtraction. A lot of misgivings about the addition of Tonkin. I disagree. He's nothing special. But he's built a fairly decent career as a solid middle man. He was good for about 30 IP with the Yankees before going in to a slump. But if a tweak here or there gets him on track, he only needs to be a solid 1-2 IP middle guy, NOT some 7th or 8th inning savior. He just needs to be able to keep the game close/same for that 1 or 2 innings. Winder MIGHT be able to be the same.

Varland has the pure stuff to be a real weapon in the 7th and 8th. But he doesn't have to be NOW. He could be, but he doesn't have to be. He just needs to come in and fire hard and good stuff before the top 4 come in. And speaking of, is Alcala running out if gas? Or is he just in a rough patch? If Alcala is OK, then Varland is #5. Then we just need a couple guys to be solid in the middle innings. As of now, we've got Tonkin, Winder, Blewitt, MAYBE Castillo, Henriquez and Thielbar to fill that role. Funderburk might be back soon, and he's much younger and has better stuff than Thielbar despite still struggling with control. Could he be a better option? 

I know it's a long shot considering late season timing/pressure, but if Helman can display a solid approach at the plate with his first appearance, he offers a RH bat to replace Margot with more power, better speed at this point, and better position flexibility. Considering how bad Margot's defense has been, IF Helman can be a "decent" hitter, he might be a better option???

This was one game, but a needed win. Now comes a road trip with a few changes/reinforcements with our Twins STILL projected to the playoffs, but still a decent chance of winning the ALC if they can have short term memory and wipe away the last 2 weeks. They had a solid July and first couple of weeks in August. Put in some oil, check the coolant, and wiper fluid just in case, check the tire pressure, grab some snacks, and hit the road and just take care of business.

Just trust you locked the front door, turned on the alarm system, and roll on down the hiway to do what you need to do. You've got a couple extra drivers to help read the map and help with drive time. Just focus on the journey's end.

Lewis hit the ball hard into the corner in the meaningless 9th on Saturday - walked and homered Sunday …….headed in the right direction.

Just gotta throw in that Festa and most recently Matthews are the shiny new pennies. They both look promising for sure - at this point, Festa has real big upside! However, SWR has a 3.85 ERA through 23 starts from middle April - August. Nobody has come up bigger for the Club in ‘24. He has a 2.0 WAR through August ……,pretty solid and very seldom discussed.

[Riverbrian]

I was in attendance. Opposite side of the field so I didn't get a good look at the catch into the netting. But I did get a good look at the Lewis homer. Felt Good... like breathing out after holding your breath for a long time. 

On the way to the game... I was listening to Falvey on the radio. I listened to how carefully he chose his words and meaning of what he was saying when talking about Royce working out at 2B. He clearly had kid gloves on for whatever reason. Certainly minimizing the workouts and certainly minimizing the odds of Royce playing 2B in the near future. It sounded like Royce had some concerns about it and it sounded like Falvey was trying to walk it back. 

I certainly don't know the details but I was thinking to myself... you've got to be kidding me. The President of Baseball Operations shouldn't have to dance around this as carefully as he was.

Royce should play where the team needs him to play. End of story. If Royce doesn't like that... Oh Well. 

And wouldn't you know it... after all of that Falvey dancing in the pre-game. In comes Royce to play 2B after Santana pinch hit for Julien. He had two chances and made them both. Certainly not worth the drama of whatever Falvey was trying to calm. 

It was a close game. Julien was not going to face a left hander. Santana was not going to play 2B after he pinch hit for Julien. So Santana to 1B moving Miranda to 3B and Lewis to 2B. 

Rocco could have used Farmer or Helman at 2B which would have sat Santana or Miranda down. Could have used Martin at 2B and Helman to LF. However... It's the top of the 6th, no score and plenty of game to go. Lewis at 2B keeps our best possible lineup for 4 innings when offense was still needed. 

Lewis to 2nd was much to do about nothing. Play him there some more. 

Pinch hitting for Larnach and Julien in the 5th is why it was necessary. 

[D.C Twins]

5 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Lewis hit the ball hard into the corner in the meaningless 9th on Saturday - walked and homered Sunday …….headed in the right direction.

Just gotta throw in that Festa and most recently Matthews are the shiny new pennies. They both look promising for sure - at this point, Festa has real big upside! However, SWR has a 3.85 ERA through 23 starts from middle April - August. Nobody has come up bigger for the Club in ‘24. He has a 2.0 WAR through August ……,pretty solid and very seldom discussed.

An opinion so nice.... you said it thrice!

[JD-TWINS]

31 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

An opinion so nice.... you said it thrice!

Phone glitch ……..my screw-up.

[Melissa]

I was in a back row in section 107 for Sunday’s game, so from my vantage point I also didn’t see how the Jimenez play along the right field wall ended, either. The crowd sure held its breath and wondered how he was for quite awhile, so it was a surprise to see him stay in the game.

I agree with other commentators above that there was a certain feeling of disappointment or dread after the top of the eighth. Made the comeback so much sweeter. Went quickly from “well, darn - how could it happen that Cap’n Jax wasted a fantastic performance by Ober” to “oh my god what Royce just did” to “don’t let Duran blow it” to “whew, we got it.”

Hard to be sure from my spot in the stands, but it sure did seem like the home plate umpire was “pinching” pitches on the edge of the zone, especially on the outside corner.

[Hans Birkeland]

On 9/2/2024 at 8:37 AM, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I'm not trying to be critical but I do not understand the trend charts being put in these posts.  It shows Ryan Jeffers, Jose Miranda, Royce Lewis, Trevor Larnach, Max Kepler, and Willi Castro all as hurt at varying levels of impact.

The only one I get is Max who has a sore knee.  All 6 of these guys played in this game and other than Max, I've not heard a word about the other 5 being hurt.

I feel like I am not understanding this chart.  If I am understanding it correctly, it has little to no value to me.  If I am missing something here, can somebody help me out and explain its value? 

I just started doing it when I was talking to my wife, who hadn't watched any games recently at the time. She said how is so and so doing? Who's hurt? Are x and y playing better yet? So I made the chart. The injuries are speculative, but we know Castro has been dealing with a back issue, Jeffers hurt his foot, Larnach still has turf toe, Lewis was running real gingerly a few games ago, and this allows me to track those sorts of injuries even when they don't show on any injury report. I might change the wording on performance/impact level because I don't think that is saying what I want it to..