ANAHEIM, Calif. — Royce Lewis was just a couple of months out from knee surgery when the Twins visited the Los Angeles Angels in 2022. He was still on the mend from that same surgery when the Twins visited in 2023. And last year, when the Twins played at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Lewis was dealing with a quad strain.

That made this trip a long time coming for the Southern California native, who kicked off his return home by inviting his teammates to dine at his father’s restaurant, The Winery, on Sunday night after their flight from Kansas City.

“We were excited to do that and have everyone come out and enjoy … what I think is the best restaurant in town — and possibly the world,” Lewis said. “It was just awesome.”

He expects the rest of the week to be, as well.

Lewis, who had a special pair In-N-Out-themed cleats lined with little red palm trees that he expected to wear at some point during the series, grew up about 25 minutes away from Angel Stadium.

He remembers coming to games as a young kid, watching players like Vladimir Guerrero Sr., Gary Matthews Jr. and Torii Hunter, who was on hand on Monday.

Lewis doesn’t remember it, per se, but he attended the 2002 World Series at Angel Stadium, as well. Monday marked his second game at the stadium, as he played once there in high school.

“I’ve been waiting three years to play here, so it’s exciting and (I’m) glad that family and friends could come out and show support,” he said.

Injury updates

Byron Buxton was out of the starting lineup Monday, a day after taking a pitch to the left knee and leaving the game early. Buxton received treatment and was out on the field early on Monday running, but manager Rocco Baldelli said he “couldn’t run the way we wanted him to to be out there and playing.”

“We’re going to take a look at him, get him inside, get him some more treatment and hopefully the discomfort and maybe a little bit of swelling will go down,” Baldelli said.

Baldelli said the training staff relayed that Justin Topa, who left Sunday’s game early with knee soreness, was “doing OK,” but the Twins did not plan on having him pitch in Monday night’s game.

“We’ll see how he comes out of the next day or two and hopefully we can avoid anything IL-related or anything like that,” Baldelli said.

Prospects in St. Paul

Outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez was reinstated from the injured list at Triple-A after recovering from an oblique strain that has kept him out since mid-July. Rodriguez, one of the Twins’ top prospects, has played in just 56 games this season between injuries.

Tuesday should mark the first time he shares the field at Triple-A with top prospect Walker Jenkins, who is set to make his CHS Field after being promoted in August.

Briefly

Jen Pawol, Major League Baseball’s first female umpire, is working the Twins-Angels series. It’s her third series of the season after debuting at the major league level and making history in August. Pawol, who has been a minor league umpire since 2016, is in a rotation of Triple-A call-up umpires who work major league games.

This is a 2024 photo of Royce Lewis of the Minnesota Twins baseball team. This image reflects the Twins active roster as of Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 when this image was taken. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Two motorist from Apple Valley were killed Saturday morning when a driver believed to be under the influence of alcohol struck their vehicle head-on.

Peter Foxvang Olson, 68, and Patricia Ann Olson, 49, both died at the scene of the 11 a.m. crash on Minnesota 56 just north of the Cannon River in Randolph in southern Dakota County, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

A State Patrol report said a 28-year-old man from Kenyon was driving a 2016 Ram 1500 pickup truck northbound in the wrong lane of the two-lane highway when his vehicle struck the 2019 GMC Terrain compact SUV of Peter and Patricia Olson.

The Kenyon man was taken to St. Paul’s Regions Hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening. The State Patrol report said that alcohol played a part in his role in the collision, which remains under investigation.

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CHICAGO — Asked last week about making his NFL debut roughly 30 minutes from where he grew up in Chicago’s inner suburbs, young quarterback J.J. McCarthy shifted the narrative with a perfect response, saying, “Hmm. I feel like home is in Minnesota.”

There’s no arguing with that statement as McCarthy steps into the spotlight as the new face of the franchise. If he’s everything the Vikings think he can be, his home will be in Minnesota for a very long time.

That didn’t stop McCarthy’s hometown of La Grange Park, Ill., from showing up in droves to watch the hometown hero in action.

A few hours before McCarthy took the field for the Vikings against the Chicago Bears, his parents Jim and Megan arrived in the tailgate lot adjacent to Soldier Field. It was something of a grand entrance for them as they pulled up with an entourage of people that also included the parents of rookie left guard Donovan Jackson.

Dozens of JJ McCarthy’s friends and family members gathered for a tailgate ahead of the Vikings quarterback’s first career NFL start in Chicago on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Dane Mizutani / Pioneer Press)

The next 45 minutes or so featured Jim basically running for mayor of the tailgate lot while Megan served as the welcome committee for a steady stream of newcomers.

There were more than 200 people in the group at its peak, including McCarthy’s longtime quarterback coach Greg Holcomb, as well as dozens of family friends, some who had shifted their allegiance to the Vikings, some who were clearly still rooting for the Bears.

All of them were invested in McCarthy’s success. That much was clear even if he has a new home.

Darrisaw out

After working tirelessly to get himself back to full strength, left tackle Christian Darrisaw was inactive for the Vikings. He was spotted going through a workout with offensive line coach Chris Kuper before a decision was made. 

Though he looked rather spry during his simulated reps, the Vikings decided it was best to give Darrisaw extra time to recover from a surgically repaired anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

In the absence of Darrisaw, veteran left tackle Justin Skule got the start, tasked with protecting McCarthy’s blind side when he dropped back to pass. 

Meanwhile, cornerback Jaylon Johnson, cornerback Kyler Gordon and linebacker T.J. Edwards were inactive for the Bears. All of them are typically starters on defense.

Poor playing surface

A video clip posted by local radio personality Chris Hawkey created quite the stir on social media. It showed the playing surface at Soldier Field looking less than ideal despite being resodded last week.

It wasn’t a good look considering the venue hosted a string of concerts over Labor Day weekend, including shows by Oasis, My Chemical Romance and The Lumineers, then a pair of shows from System of a Down.

Ultimately, the game between the Vikings and the Bears went on as scheduled, meaning the NFL deemed that the playing surface met the minimum standards required to host.

Remembering Annunciation

Members of the Vikings and the Bears wore shirts pregame honoring the victims of last month’s mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.

The shirts had the word “ANNUNCIATION” prominently displayed on the front, and the words “BE KIND, BE RESPECTFUL, BE INCLUSIVE, BE MY BEST SELF, BE BRAVE” listed on the back.

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Gov. Tim Walz issued an executive order Monday to “safeguard” vaccine access in Minnesota, joining other Democratic-led states in breaking with restrictive eligibility policies unveiled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the newly approved COVID-19 vaccines for the fall season.

The order also pushes back against what Walz said was a “misinformation campaign” led by U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “questioning the effectiveness and utility of vaccines.”

Such doubts recently led Republicans in Florida to take steps to be the first state to eliminate school vaccine mandates.

Walz’s executive order directed Minnesota’s Department of Health “to continue to identify, review, and remove barriers to vaccine access to the fullest extent permitted by law” and to issue a standing order to health care providers for the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Vaccines are one of the greatest public health achievements in modern medicine,” Walz said in the order. “While the Trump Administration attempts to limit Americans’ access to preventative care, Minnesota will be guided by science and medical expertise, prioritizing the health and safety of our people.”

Previous FDA policy recommended that COVID-19 vaccine booster shots be made available to anyone 6 months or older regardless of their health status. But in August, the federal agency announced restrictions for the new shot.

The FDA limited access to the vaccines to people who are 65 and older and to younger people with at least one underlying health condition, such as asthma or obesity, that would put them at risk of developing a severe illness without a booster shot. Children are eligible only if a medical provider is consulted. Additionally, the Pfizer vaccine, one of the three that were approved, will no longer be available for any child under 5.

Walz’s order also instructed the Minnesota Department of Commerce to work with the Health Department to ensure that insurance companies operating in the state continue to provide affordable vaccines in various health care settings, including pharmacies.

Unlike many other states, pharmacists in Minnesota can administer influenza and COVID-19 vaccines without a prescription regardless of federal guidance. But insurance coverage in such cases remains uncertain.

Updated COVID-19 vaccines are becoming available at Minnesota clinics and pharmacies, and there should be increasing availability over the next several weeks, Walz’s office said in a statement accompanying the executive order.

The debut of the updated COVID-19 vaccines has gotten off to a clunky start in many states. Limits on who can get the shots and prescription requirements are confusing customers and leaving some people worried about whether they will get protection from the virus this fall.

Kennedy has insisted that everyone who wants a shot still can get one after consulting with a doctor, but he also told a Senate committee hearing Thursday that this access “depends on the states.”

Florida’s announcement rolling back school vaccination requirements along with Kennedy’s attempts to advance anti-vaccine policies have widened the debate over vaccine mandates — long a centerpiece of fighting infectious diseases.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said roughly 4 million deaths are prevented annually worldwide by childhood vaccinations.

While most Americans say kids should be vaccinated to attend school, adults nationwide are now less likely to think those immunizations are important. At the same time, routine childhood vaccine rates are falling.

Other Democratic-led states are also taking measures to ensure more people can get access to vaccines for COVID-19 and other diseases.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey last week ordered health insurers in the state to continue covering the COVID-19 vaccine. The state also issued an order to allow pharmacies to continue providing shots.

Colorado, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington took similar steps.

The Democratic governors in Washington, Oregon and California also announced that they have created an alliance to establish their own recommendations for who should receive vaccines. They plan to coordinate their vaccine recommendations and immunization plans based on science-based evidence from respected national medical organizations, according to a joint statement.

This report includes information from the Associated Press.