Twins 6, Guardians 2: Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee Deliver Big Homers in Twins' Final Home Game of 2025

[Hans Birkeland]

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (80 Pitches, 47 Strikes, 58.8%)
Home Runs: Brooks Lee (16), Royce Lewis (13)
Top 3 WPA: Lee (.365), Lewis (.170), Pierson Ohl (.095)
Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs):

If you still needed proof that the Guardians simply play a better brand of baseball than anything the Twins could possibly approximate, this series provided it. Guardians pitchers know exactly what Twins hitters are trying to do and countered them perfectly, and Guardians hitters are similarly inside the heads of Twins pitchers. It helps that they are the hottest team in baseball and about to complete one of the greatest division comebacks in recent memory.

Well, not so fast.

The Twins threw their hottest pitcher, Simeon Woods Richardson, at them today. That immediately went south, like (seemingly) everything these days. Steven Kwan got a fastball to his liking and smoked it 373 feet to begin the game 1-0. George Valera, who among Guardians fans ranked in the Jose Miranda/Edouard Julien space in terms of being just a massive, useless bust that wouldn't amount to anything just a few months ago, was hitting second, and walked. He reached third on a Kyle Manzardo single; Bo Naylor hit a sacrifice fly to bring him home and double the lead. Classic Guardians.

Twins hitters had to contend with Joey Cantillo, who struck out nine the last time he faced them. During that game, Cantillo was actually rocked pretty hard, before settling in and reverting back to dominance. He looked good again today, outside of allowing a bloop double to Byron Buxton and a subsequent RBI single to Kody Clemens in the third.

Woods Richardson kept the Guardians off the board the rest of the way, and in the sixth (following a double from Luke Keaschall), Brooks Lee launched a 411-foot home run to flip the game and give the Twins the lead. This came after Guardians manager Stephen Vogt chose to take out his lefty, Erik Sabrowski, to flip Lee to his "weaker" side with Matt Festa. It's weird when a strategy backfires against Cleveland. They always seem to have a horseshoe handy. This time, they got kicked.

Strategy backfired again for Vogt in the seventh. Following a Clemens squibber and another infield single from Austin Martin, Royce Lewis was called upon to hit for Trevor Larnach against lefty Tim Herrin with two outs. Vogt called for his setup man, Hunter Gaddis, and Lewis made him pay, jumping all over the fourth straight slider of the at-bat and launching it 402 feet to extend the lead to 6-2. Lewis seemed pretty pumped:

Kody Funderburk, Pierson Ohl, Cole Sands and Travis Adams pitched scoreless frames to seal the win.

Other tidbits from this game:

Remember when Ron Gardenhire batted Nick Punto second?
I've been trying to find the logic behind the Guardians insisting on hitting their worst hitters in the number two spot in the lineup. Will Brennan and Amed Rosario have been assigned this duty in the past, and during this series, we've seen Daniel Schneeman and the aforementioned Valera in that spot. My theory on why teams like the Guardians and Brewers have done so well lately is that their analytics have gotten so advanced that they've moved past the need for some of them and are able to exploit other teams' over-reliance on said analytics. Perhaps there is an element of human psychology in putting a crappy hitter between Kwan and José Ramírez? Here are my best guesses:

1. A bad hitter is 100% okay with giving himself up, either by sacrificing himself or by taking pitches without being concerned about falling behind in the count. That gives Kwan a couple of chances to steal a base if needed.
2. Teams that game plan to focus entirely on Kwan and Ramírez might take the number two hitter for granted, especially if he has crappy numbers. The hitter prepares as if that is the case and waits for a fat pitch he can swing out of his shoes at. If he doesn't get it, it's no big deal; no one expects him to do anything anyway. How many clutch home runs have we seen the Quad-A Brennan hit over the years? Far too many.
3. The ability to pinch-hit in the later innings is there. Jhonkensy Noel is always lurking, and being able to pinch-hit him late in the game has proven to be a winning formula. Not having to take a good player out in order to do so is the icing on the cake.

Is Ryan Fitzgerald making a case for a role next year?
Fitzgerald famously took forever to make his major-league debut, and even when the Twins brought him up after the fire sale, he wasn't playing much. But he has made the most out of limited opportunities, played decent defense, hit a few nice homers and has an .800-plus OPS to show for it.

Brooks Lee certainly has more present upside, but the Twins aren't long on guys who can play competently at third, short and second and who possess a bat that isn't a pool noodle. Then again, if Lee doesn't amount to anything, maybe FItzgerald is one of those guys who figures something out after they turn 30. Maybe not José Bautista style, but maybe he can be a poor man's Scott Brosius?

SWR: 2026 Ace of Staff?
Stay with me here: If Joe Ryan and Pablo López are traded away, and Bailey Ober requires surgery to fix a hip labrum or something, I don't think the Twins have a starter more accustomed to getting big-league hitters out than Woods Richardson. His splitter is still new, and might get better. On that note, the Guardians really didn't swing at his splitter at all, and still couldn't score in innings two through five.

Of course, the start against New York last week lingers in our minds and paints the righty in a better light, but he threw by far the best out of the starters against Cleveland, a team that cannot be denied. He's just been good since his recall (outside of that crazy parasite that sidelined him in August). The splitter plays, and with a newfound ability to miss bats, he might be a breakout candidate for 2026.

Edouard Julien: Not that Bad?
Stay with me again: Julien hasn't been particularly impressive, but he is striking out less than he ever has, his BABIP is the lowest of his career, and he hasn't seemed as overmatched as he looked earlier in the year. His batted-ball metrics indicate more of an average hitter than the black hole his surface-level stats would imply. He had competitive at-bats today. Maybe learning the league a little more has had an impact on a guy who does tend to get down on himself. If he is a .230/.330/.420 guy, that isn't the worst player to have at the end of your bench. I also think a confident Julien can act as something of a mascot for the team, a little like Bartolo Colón or José Iglesias.

What’s Next: The Twins are off Monday, before heading to Arlington, Texas to play the fading Rangers. Zebby Matthews (4-6, 5.97 ERA) takes the ball. He was absolutely awful his last time out against the Yankees. Whether he was tipping pitches is irrelevant, because he was throwing batting practice against a New York team eager to make amends after getting shut out the night before. The Rangers were showing some life in August, but are now losers of six in a row and all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Their starter hasn't yet been announced.

Postgame Interviews:

 

Coming soon

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	WED	THU	FRI	SAT 1	SAT2	SUN	TOT
Abel	0	0	0	0	71	0	71
Sands	15	0	25	0	0	20	60
Hatch	0	0	0	52	0	0	52
Funderburk	10	0	20	0	0	14	44
Adams	14	0	0	0	0	14	28
Cabrera	23	0	0	0	0	0	23
Ohl	13	0	0	0	0	9	22
Laweryson	0	0	20	0	0	0	20
Tonkin	0	0	17	0	0	0	17

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[Parfigliano]

Winner winner I'm grilling chicken breast for dinner.

[mikelink45]

I might have liked the essay but when you put a shout out for Julien you really lost me. Have you looked at his batting average. Have you seen the futility of this man who is supposed to take a starring role in the upsurge of the Minnesota twins. I'm sorry but Miranda is just as good as he is and neither one should be on a major league team at this point. Neither should outman or gaspar  

All teams lose and all teams win it's just a some win a lot and some lose a lot. So to make one victory out of this morass is not enough to start seeing all the positives. If SWR is our new ace next season really looks long. It's not that he's a bad picture it's just that he's not good enough to carry a team like an ace supposed to. I like enthusiasm but these reports have to be realistic too. 

 

[stringer bell]

24-year-old Brooks Lee hit a big homer, 26-year-old Royce Lewis also hit a big homer while 24-year-old SWR provided five more decent innings. These three guys will be important in the next year and beyond. Ending their seasons on an upward swing is nice and might help their confidence going forward.

Funderburk has had a very good run after the relief pitcher purge. Depending on who is acquired, Fundy should have a leg up on being a lefty piece in ‘26. 

[Doctor Gast]

I'm sorry, Hans. Falvey can no longer hide that Julien is bad at 2B, so they finally put him at 1B, But it's 4 yrs. too late. He's not good & his hitting doesn't justify him there. Just because his bad K rate has gotten better doesn't justify the Twins wasting their time with him. There are players that the Twins don't give opportunities to, who deserve it, and there are players that the Twins give unlimited opportunities to, who don't deserve them. Julien is in the 2nd group.

[Doctor Gast]

Buck was a little quiet today but Lee & Lewis came through. SWR had a little trouble in the 1st inning, but as usual he adjusted like a veteran & gave us a chance to win the game. He is too underrated.

[William K Johnson]

Are we forgetting the line drive that Julien misplayed yesterday that led to six runs?   I know they gave Ramirez a hit on it, but come on, if Carlos Santana is at first, the Indians do not score in that inning.

[Blyleven2011]

Nice to end the last home game with a win , i heard on the radio that the fans in attendance gave the players a standing ovation after the final out , fan appreciation isn't suppose to work that way ...

Lewis hitting a 3 run pinch hit homerun for extra insurance for the win , How many pinch hit homers do the twins have this year ???

Well time to put the beautiful target field to sleep , let it snow  ...

[1985Fan]

I like SWR recent work. I’ve always liked his confidence and mentality. I think he’s got the ability to be a mid rotation SP. I don’t know about an ace, but you never know. I don’t think too many people had Ryan’s ceiling as high as he’s gotten, so I’ll stay optimistic for SWR. 
I think they’ve seen enough from Martin, Keaschall, and Lee to write them into the lineup next year. I think Lewis was already in next year’s lineup, but his defensive improvement and recent AB’s have made me think there is hope for him. He needs more consistent AB’s to be an everyday player, but at least he doesn’t look lost at the plate recently. 
Fitzgerald will make the roster as a backup to Lee at SS, because who else can they get for the minimum salary? Maybe Will Holland? They’re sure not going to sign any FA this offseason. Please don’t keep Julien on the roster. He is a defensive liability at 1B or 2B and hitting .230 doesn’t overcome his terrible defense. Time to move on. 

[Robert Gauthier]

1 hour ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Nice to end the last home game with a win , i heard on the radio that the fans in attendance gave the players a standing ovation after the final out , fan appreciation isn't suppose to work that way ...

Lewis hitting a 3 run pinch hit homerun for extra insurance for the win , How many pinch hit homers do the twins have this year ???

Well time to put the beautiful target field to sleep , let it snow  ...

We went to the game the night before. It was another dismal loss but the spirit was pretty good amongst the fans in the stands. People were having fun. They were cheering on the players, and even though everyone hates the Pohlads and likely, Derek Falvy, they still enjoyed being at the park and going to the game. It’s a shame that this franchise is in the hands of people who care so little for the people who actually make the fan base up. As I’ve said before, the game is important to a lot of people, a lot of people who don’t go to the game like nursing home, disabled and assisted living facility patients who love to watch or hearthe twins. To put it in the hand of these spoiled brat nepo babies.  I just wish his team will run by somebody who actually cares about baseball and its fans. 

[Robert Gauthier]

To put the fans in the hands of the spoiled brat, nepo babies is an affront to the loyal fans of this Midwest. Remember this family tried to contract the team, lie about it, move it to another city under false pretenses, conned the city into creating a beautiful park, and then somehow assuming a bunch of debt, probably by not paying their bills in a timely fashion, because they’re such lousy business people in their other endevours.  

[tarheeltwinsfan]

3 hours ago, William K Johnson said:

Are we forgetting the line drive that Julien misplayed yesterday that led to six runs?   I know they gave Ramirez a hit on it, but come on, if Carlos Santana is at first, the Indians do not score in that inning.

Plus Julian's foot being off 1B on a play at 1st. 

[terrydactyls]

The final week begins tomorrow.

P	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	Chicago White Sox	58	98	0.372	-
2	Pittsburgh Pirates	67	89	0.429	9.0
3	Minnesota Twins	67	89	0.429	9.0
4	Los Angeles Angels	70	86	0.449	12.0
5	Atlanta Braves	73	83	0.468	15.0
6	Whatever Athletics	73	83	0.468	15.0
7	Baltimore Orioles	73	83	0.468	15.0

[knothole61]

The last home game ends with a small win for the Twins but potentially a big loss for the Guards. Baseball is such an odd thing!

[Doctor Wu]

Royce Lewis has had himself a pretty good month so far. Any chance of getting this type of production during the rest of the season too? Man, that would be a huge help for this team. Plus, if Lee starts to find his groove thing more consistently that will be a bonus too. 

[Nshore]

The on field celebrations by Lewis when he actually gets a hit are kind of nauseating to me.  The team stinks, HE largely stinks, but he hops around like a grasshopper when he hits a home run.  I prefer the Harmon Killebrew home run slow trot method - "I did it before, and I'm going to do it again" attitude.  I realize it's how today's players are, and I'm just getting old - and really tired of seeing bad ML baseball.  Get off my lawn.

[CRF]

WHAT? They won, you say? Well...isn't that special!

[Nshore]

13 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

I'm sorry, Hans. Falvey can no longer hide that Julien is bad at 2B, so they finally put him at 1B, But it's 4 yrs. too late. He's not good & his hitting doesn't justify him there. Just because his bad K rate has gotten better doesn't justify the Twins wasting their time with him. There are players that the Twins don't give opportunities to, who deserve it, and there are players that the Twins give unlimited opportunities to, who don't deserve them. Julien is in the 2nd group.

Totally agree.  The Twins gave Alcala 5,000 opportunities.  The Red Sox spit him out like a rotten oyster after 5 seconds.  It's just a different mentality and sense of urgency in winning organizations.

[Hans Birkeland]

15 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

I'm sorry, Hans. Falvey can no longer hide that Julien is bad at 2B, so they finally put him at 1B, But it's 4 yrs. too late. He's not good & his hitting doesn't justify him there. Just because his bad K rate has gotten better doesn't justify the Twins wasting their time with him. There are players that the Twins don't give opportunities to, who deserve it, and there are players that the Twins give unlimited opportunities to, who don't deserve them. Julien is in the 2nd group.

I want him to be Gene Larkin so bad!

[DJL44]

15 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

I'm sorry, Hans. Falvey can no longer hide that Julien is bad at 2B, so they finally put him at 1B, But it's 4 yrs. too late. He's not good & his hitting doesn't justify him there. Just because his bad K rate has gotten better doesn't justify the Twins wasting their time with him. There are players that the Twins don't give opportunities to, who deserve it, and there are players that the Twins give unlimited opportunities to, who don't deserve them. Julien is in the 2nd group.

Plus, he's also really bad at playing 1B. He's a platoon DH with a 600 OPS.

[BrokenCompass]

Best part of this read: watching the youngster jump for joy after catching Royce's homer. A memory he'll never forget! I remember getting Frank Viola's autograph in the depths of the Metrodome after a mid-week matinee back in the 80s and it's stuck with me for life. Go Twins, we'll be cheering for you no matter who you run out there. 

[Doctor Gast]

11 minutes ago, Hans Birkeland said:

I want him to be Gene Larkin so bad!

Yes, Larkin has done a great job reinventing himself. Believe me, I'd have liked if MLB hadn't figured them out but they did. Julien is having a much more difficult time adjusting, plus he has nothing to offer w/o his slugging. If he does adjust to be more of a contact hitter, he doesn't fit the 1B profile. 

[Doctor Wu]

On 9/22/2025 at 5:57 PM, Nshore said:

The on field celebrations by Lewis when he actually gets a hit are kind of nauseating to me. 

I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels that way. Something about the way he reacts just rubs me the wrong way. 

[Doctor Wu]

21 hours ago, BrokenCompass said:

Best part of this read: watching the youngster jump for joy after catching Royce's homer. A memory he'll never forget! I remember getting Frank Viola's autograph in the depths of the Metrodome after a mid-week matinee back in the 80s and it's stuck with me for life. Go Twins, we'll be cheering for you no matter who you run out there. 

Agreed, Seeing that kid jump for joy after getting the ball reminds us how much joy that this game can bring  to people. Great clip!