DENVER — Royce Lewis can tell something is different, even though his swing feels good to him. When he watches himself on film, when he looks back on his at-bats, he notices something looks off.
His thoughts range from: “That’s not Royce,” to “I want it to be Royce,” to ‘Where’s Royce?’”
The production from Lewis that the Twins have become accustomed to getting hasn’t been there this season, and Lewis expressed a desire for a “reset” before Saturday’s game. Lewis, who was not in the starting lineup on Saturday, entered the day hitting .211 with just two home runs on the season. He has a negative bWAR (wins above replacement per Baseball Reference) and his numbers have dipped from his career averages across the board.
“To me, in my head, it feels the same,” he said of his swing. “It’s like, until you look at yourself in the mirror, you’re like ‘I’m the best dressed. I look good,’” Lewis said. “Then you look at yourself and ‘Maybe I don’t look good in yellow.’ I’m watching video and I thought it looked good, but it does look a little different.”
His swing, he said, doesn’t look the same as it did even last year. His body is compensating for something, he believes, and after dealing with two hamstring strains this year — including a very significant one that he suffered in spring training — he feels injuries have taken more of a toll on his body than he once realized.
Perhaps, the 26-year-old said, it’s because he’s “starting to get older.”
Hitting coach Matt Borgschulte said Lewis was continuing to put in the work to get back where he needed to be and said he believed the third baseman was getting closer “by the day.”
But the lack of results, it seems, have gotten into his head. In Friday’s game, Lewis scorched a lineout at 104.3 mph off the bat at second baseman Ryan Ritter. In the past, he said he’s done a good job of walking away from something like that, thinking “It’s part of the process, part of the game.”
Now, his perspective has shifted.
“I’ve become more results-oriented because of how we run things here personally. It’s been harder for me mentally,” Lewis said. “This year, it seems like if I don’t — or anybody in general — (they’re) quick to pull the trigger on you. I’m trying to do my best to get some balls to fall and when that doesn’t happen, you’re just like (out of luck).”
But Lewis, despite dealing with the frustrations of this season, still projected optimism for the remaining two and a half months of the season and called this year a “significant jump … in terms of growth and wisdom.”
“I’m trying to figure it out,” Lewis said. “Hopefully soon it looks like the Royce of old.”
Reinforcements arrive
The Twins welcomed Zebby Matthews back from the injured list on Saturday, the first of a group they hope can impact them down the stretch.
Bailey Ober (hip) threw four scoreless innings on a rehab assignment at Triple-A on Friday night and the Twins have not yet detailed the next steps for him. Joining him with the Saints was Luke Keaschall (arm), who is expected to have a lengthy rehab assignment as he comes back from a fractured forearm. And at some point, the Twins anticipate getting Pablo López (shoulder) back, as well.
“You definitely want to just keep getting guys healthy, keep getting guys back. You’re going to be better for it ultimately,” Baldelli said. “There could be some hard decisions that come along with it. That’s part of the game so we just want to keep, on the medical side, on the health side, just keep getting stronger and stronger and keep giving us options.”
Briefly
Joe Ryan will make his first start of the second half of the season on Sunday at Coors Field. Ryan, who last pitched Tuesday in the All-Star Game, has a 2.72 ERA on the season. … Travis Adams was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the roster for Matthews.
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