KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Royce Lewis had selected a green and blue three-piece suit for his first-ever major league Opening Day. He had a white dress shirt with a Twins logo on the wrist to go underneath it, as well as a blue tie.
But the chilly weather for the team’s workout day on Wednesday psyched him out. He was nervous he would have to switch his plans. Teammate Kyle Farmer assured him he could wear his “swag,” as he had hoped.
He had a beautiful time, he said, watching the pregame flyover — “that was like a superhero movie”— as he stood in between his two teammates, Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton, two players whom he considers his idols.
“It can’t get any better than that. I was just smiling out there and having a great time,” Lewis said. “That’s why I’m smiling and we got the win (4-1 over the Kansas City Royals) on top of that, so it’s a great Opening Day.”
Well, not quite everything was great for the 24-year-old.
The Twins’ third baseman, by nature, is relentlessly positive. So even as he stares down the possibility of another injured list stint for a quad injury suffered while running the bases, he was smiling, pointing out everything that did go right on Thursday.
After homering in his first at-bat, and singling in his second, he suffered a quad injury running the bases on Thursday. He had magnetic resonance imaging done, and the Twins will continue to evaluate him. It’s a tough break for a player who twice had anterior cruciate ligament surgery and also spent time on the injured list with an oblique strain and a hamstring injury last year.
“Obviously a very difficult situation, seeing him come off the field like that. He just continues to just produce and produce,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It’s pretty amazing, actually, to come out here and start a season like that. But we’re going to assess him, and we’ll probably have an update in the next day or two.”
After collecting his single in the third inning, Lewis had his mind set on scoring on Carlos Correa’s double to left. But as he ran, he felt his quad start to tighten.
It felt like a cramp and hours later, as he met with the media, he said his leg felt the same as it had when he initially suffered the injury. His first thought, he said, wasn’t the pain, but rather that the score should have been 3-1 at the time, rather than just 2-1.
“The double felt great off the bat, and then when I got to second and I see Royce, he’s hurt, you felt terrible,” Correa said. “He’s a guy that you know he’s an MVP candidate, and we just want him to stay healthy and be out there with us every single night if possible. You don’t want to see it on the first day.”
Lewis expressed relief that the injury was not to his knee — and said he was eager to hear more from team doctors — to learn when he could return to the field.
“It’s something I can’t control, this stuff, and it’s part of the game,” Lewis said. “I’ll come back and make things happen. We’ll have some more fun.”
Correa shines
In the ninth inning, Correa’s hustle helped provide the Twins with an important insurance run, as he beat the ball to the base to allow Byron Buxton to score and keep the inning alive.
After dealing with plantar fasciitis nearly all of last season, the shortstop was so excited to hear his sprint speed after the game that he broke into a little dance in front of his locker.
“I just feel healthy,” he said. “When I’m healthy, I don’t think of anything. … When something doesn’t hurt, I’m just being a baseball player, I’m just being an athlete out there and trying to play and be free.”
The Twins’ star finished the day with three hits, driving in two runs. It was a big day, the first of what the Twins hope is many this season.
“Obviously, it’s just one game,” Correa said. “It’s just about being consistent with the way you think when you’re in the batter’s box, and that’s what we’re going to try to do this year, be consistent with one approach.”
Jackson relishes opener
Reliever Jay Jackson’s professional career started in 2008, when he was drafted in the ninth round by the Chicago Cubs. Over the years, he has pitched for 10 different organizations, and yet until Thursday, he had never been on a major league team’s Opening Day roster.
That’s what made the day all the more special for the 36-year-old reliever.
“I’m thankful and blessed and grateful to have been able to enjoy this journey to this point and even though it’s taken 17 (years), it’s been a wonderful 17,” he said. “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
The Twins signed Jackson this offseason to a major league deal — his first major-league pact — after he put together a 2.12 earned-run average across 29 2/3 innings for the Toronto Blue Jays last season.
“I’m so happy and ecstatic to be here,” Jackson said. “I’m just thankful that they thought enough of me for me to be on this team and thankful that they gave me the opportunity to be here on the Opening Day roster with the bunch of great guys that we have.”
Briefly
Non-roster invite Daniel Duarte grabbed the last bullpen spot on the Opening Day roster. To make room on the roster for him, starter Anthony DeSclafani was transferred to the 60-day injured list. … After hitting lefties well last season, Baldelli had catcher Ryan Jeffers hit second in the lineup against southpaw Cole Ragans. Jeffers said he appreciated the “show of confidence.” … The Twins have Friday off before returning to play on Saturday. Joe Ryan will get the start.
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