It’s becoming harder to remember now, thanks to one man, but there was a time earlier this season when the Twins practically begged fans to change the channel or head to the concession stand as soon as they loaded the bases.
Through roughly the first two months of the year, the Twins were a combined 5-for-43 with all bases occupied, with nary an extra base hit and a minuscule .289 OPS.
Those numbers helped drive an overall narrative: The Twins could suddenly pitch very well, but they couldn’t hit. They were one-dimensional, boring and lucky to be playing in the overmatched AL Central where even halfway-decent play could lead to a spot atop the standings.
That was all, of course, B.R. — Before Royce.
The Twins rookie infielder was called up at the end of May and immediately injected life into the offense before an untimely injury a month later. He returned on Aug. 15, and here’s what has happened since then: 18 games, 24 runs batted in and three grand slams — all of them clutch, all of them in the last eight games — for Lewis.
As Patrick Reusse and I talked about on Tuesday’s Daily Delivery podcast, Lewis’ barrage of huge homers has also had this effect: He’s made it much harder to be so grumpy about these first-place Twins.
The latest was his third grand slam, keying an outpouring Monday that left no doubt in an eventual 20-6 Twins win over Cleveland — the kind of score that would make Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores happy on Sunday.
The win gave the Twins a comfortable six-game cushion with 24 to play and ensured they would leave Cleveland in control of the division.
His grand slam habit started a little over a week ago, stirring an important comeback win over Texas and another win over Cleveland.
The Twins can’t hit with the bases loaded? It’s easy. Just hit it over the fence, like Lewis.
The Twins are boring and predictable, fated to either win 4-2 or lose 2-1? Not lately.
The Twins might win a bad division, but they have no chance in the playoffs? Not exactly, with a strong top of the rotation and an infectious offense fueled by young hitters like Lewis.
Just a few weeks ago, this team was a lot easier to dismiss and a lot harder to like. But it’s hard to be so cynical while watching Lewis play and produce.
Here are four more things to know today:
*Reusse likes the Vikings in a romp on Sunday against Tampa Bay and he thinks the NFC North is theirs. An optimistic Reusse? Yep, in this case it’s true.
*Reusse on townball, by the way, is always a must-read.
*It’s looking likely that the Lynx will get the No. 5 seed in the WNBA playoffs and face No. 4 Dallas. That would be quite the series given the recent history between the teams.
*I’ll be joined by several members of the Gophers baseball team on Wednesday’s podcast. They were kind enough to join me on Labor Day on the Star Tribune stage at the State Fair, thankfully in the morning before the temperature turned to a full roast.