For a moment, it looked like Royce Lewis, Mr. Grand Slam himself, had done it yet again.
The Twins third baseman lasered a Hunter Strickland pitch to left-center field that was initially ruled a home run, one that would have been the sixth grand slam of his young career.
Upon review, the call was overturned. The ball had hit off the top of the wall and Lewis had to settle for a two-run double. But Lewis and the Twins, who beat the Angels 6-4 on Wednesday night at Target Field, will sure take it.
Lewis, who at one point earlier this season declared he didn’t “do that slump thing,” entered the night hitless since last Wednesday. He tried to break that up with a bunt in the first inning but was unsuccessful, and he was 0 for his last 22 before ending the hitless streak with a sixth-inning single. An inning later, Lewis’ double helped provide insurance in the series-finale win over the Angels.
In the fourth, shortstop Brooks Lee broke out of his 0-for-19 slump with a double bringing home a pair of runs and putting the Twins on top for good.
Lewis and Lee provided much of the offense for the Twins in what was clearly an important game. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli pulled starter Zebby Matthews early, the short hook a sign of the urgency the Twins now have in their postseason push.
Matthews, to that point, had given up a pair of solo home runs, and the Twins were trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning. After Matthews issued a one-out walk, Baldelli summoned for Cole Sands. Reliever after reliever followed — Caleb Thielbar, Jorge Alcala, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran — as the Twins emptied their bullpen to secure a win.
Jax pitched two scoreless innings on a special night for him and his family. Most of Jax’s family was in attendance, and his twin brothers participated in the pregame ceremonies — both Air Force captains, one piloted a fighter jet as part of the pregame flyover and the other threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Griffin.
Jax threw a clean seventh inning when the Twins were up by just a run, keeping the Angels in check before Lewis’ late offense helped give the Twins a more comfortable lead.
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