Twins Place Royce Lewis Back on IL

It’s possible the Minnesota Twins have taken more hits from the injured list than their lineup this season. They dropped a second game to the Houston Astros on Saturday, this time in walkoff fashion.

Unfortunately Friday’s defeat, which was a 10-3 drubbing, included Royce Lewis exiting from first base. He ripped what could have been a double to left field and instead pulled up prior to reaching first.

The news didn’t get better after undergoing an MRI on Saturday afternoon.

Royce Lewis has a strained hamstring, again…

The Minnesota Twins were hopeful after the testing that Royce Lewis went through post game on Friday night. An MRI still made sense after he spent two months on the injured list with a left hamstring strain suffered during Spring Training. The result is not a positive one.

Minnesota is calling the latest injury a mild hamstring strain. That is of lesser severity than a moderate strain, but almost certainly will require a longer downtime than ten days. Lewis returned to the lineup from a hamstring injury to the same leg just over a month ago on May 6.

On the heels of substantial injuries to starting pitchers Pablo Lopez and Zebby Matthews, this is awful news for the lineup. Lewis struggled out of the gate but has a .367/.457/.533 batting line during ten games in June. He has been playing the best defense of his career and finally looked to be finding himself.

The Minnesota Twins infield has had their starting third baseman for just 30 games this season. His injury history is well documented, and the career 182 games across four seasons reflects that. For a player that is clearly so talented, it is frustrating and disheartening to see his body consistently fail him.

With Lewis out of the picture Minnesota must recall help from Triple-A St. Paul. The 40-man options include Edouard Julien, Mickey Gasper, and Jose Miranda. Only Gasper has hit well at Triple-A (.341/.445/.675) of that group, but he is just 6-for-34 this season in the majors. It is notable that Miranda was the only on the the three out of the Saints lineup on Saturday.

If it is Miranda coming back, he’ll need to hit much better than the .217/.297/.330 line he owns across 30 Triple-A games this year. He initially was rostered by Minnesota out of Grapefruit League play, but earned a demotion after going 6-for-36 with a 13/0 K/BB in 12 games.

Byron Buxton leaves for Minnesota Twins

It wasn’t just bad news for Royce Lewis on Saturday. Byron Buxton got hit in the left elbow by Astros starter Hunter Brown. Despite it seeming to get his protective guard, he quickly responded in pain.

Buxton initially remained in the game for Minnesota and even stole a base after taking first. He did seem to show a level of pain after sliding in safely. Ultimately he was lifted for Harrison Bader as a defensive replacement.

The Twins will need to see how Buxton responds on Sunday, but they are calling the injury and elbow contusion for now. The outfielder has led the team in fWAR (2.3) this season. His only time missed due to injury came as the result of a concussion suffered in a collision with Carlos Correa.

Minnesota is back in action on Sunday against the Astros and will look to snap their three-game skid. Simeon Woods Richardson starts against Brandon Walter.