id="li_sync_frame" src="https://i.liadm.com/sync-container?duid=ca79ac0ed495--01hyzy116738hjnhrrccqjh77q&appId=b-02ol&euns=1&s=Cp8BCgYI-QEQ4xsKBgj3ARDfGwoFCAoQ4RsKBgjdARDhGwoGCIkBEOMbCgYIgQEQ4RsKBQgMEOYbCgYI9QEQ4RsKBQgLEOEbCgYIpAEQ4xsKBgizARDfGwoGCIACEOAbCgYI4QEQ4xsKBgiiARDgGwoGCP8BEN8bCgkI_____wcQ6BsKBgiHAhDfGwoGCNIBEN8bCgUIfhDhGwoGCIgBEN8bEogBDU16QZgSgAEKBgjKARDhGwoGCOQBEOMbCgYIkwEQ3xsKBgjJARDgGwoGCKUBEOMbCgYI9AEQ4RsKBgiUARDfGwoGCOYBEOMbCgYIxgEQ3xsKBgjHARDhGwoGCOcBEOMbCgYIyAEQ4RsKBgjlARDjGwoGCMUBEOEbCgYI_gEQ4RsKBgjoARDjGxI_DeRe52ESOAoGCMoBEOEbCgYIkwEQ3xsKBgjJARDjGwoGCMUBEOEbCgYIxgEQ4hsKBgjHARDhGwoGCMgBEOEbEj8NmFJsBRI4CgYIygEQ4RsKBgiTARDfGwoGCMkBEOMbCgYIxQEQ4RsKBgjGARDiGwoGCMcBEOEbCgYIyAEQ4Rs&us_privacy=1---&version=v3.13.1&cd=.mlb.com&pv=7e034b4e-2c84-4335-a1ff-4b597412f6fb" style="font-size: medium; box-sizing: border-box; opacity: 0; width: 0px; height: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: initial; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: -1000;">
- The Big Swing: With two outs in the bottom of the 6th, Lee crushed a 93.1 mph four-seam fastball from Guardians reliever David Festa. The ball left his bat at 106.9 mph and traveled 411 feet into right-center field, breaking a 1-1 tie to make it 3-2. [1, 3]
- Streak Snapped: Lee's home run (his 16th of the 2025 season) shifted momentum, allowing pinch-hitter Royce Lewis to seal the game with a three-run blast in the 7th. The win officially snapped Cleveland's 10-game winning streak. [1, 2, 3, 4]
The key for Lewis' pinch-hit blast? Hit like it's his grandma's birthday
MINNEAPOLIS -- Royce Lewis watched the ball fly. He carried his bat halfway up the first-base line before dropping it. And as he rounded first base, he let out a roar.
Even if the Twins had already been eliminated from contention, it was clear that Lewis’ three-run pinch-hit homer on Sunday meant more than your garden-variety long ball. And he acknowledged as much after Minnesota finished off a 6-2 win against the Guardians at Target Field that brought their 2025 home schedule to a close.
“It was a good one,” Lewis said. “You never know if it's going to be your last at-bat here or what. You never know. I just wanted to enjoy it. And my grandma told me, 'Hit like you're hitting on my birthday.' Every time I've hit on her birthday I've hit a homer, so she told me that last night and it worked out. So I might as well do that on Tuesday, too."
It hasn’t been that long since a trade of Lewis would have seemed inconceivable, and it’s worth noting that it still appears rather unlikely for a variety of reasons. But it’s a sign of how things have gone this year that it even crossed his mind.
“It has [crossed my mind], but we don't know what direction,” Lewis said. “I can't control anything. I'm just here and enjoying my time with my teammates and the guys here. Because I grew up playing with all these guys, so it would be a weird situation. It would almost be like, I grew up with one family then all of a sudden, 'Hey, I'm going to college.'”
It’s been a tumultuous year for Lewis, who missed the first month of the season due to a hamstring injury, slumped deeply upon his return and reinjured the muscle just as he was starting to get going.
Then, just as he found himself on a roll once again with a strong July, he watched as 10 players were dealt off the Major League roster at the Trade Deadline. Whether it was related or just the kind of dip that sometimes happens, Lewis scuffled in the first half of August before finding his footing again.
In retrospect, he expressed regret about returning from the first injury when he did. But while his overall numbers are not what he would’ve hoped, Lewis has put up a solid second half while reaching 100 games played for the first time in his four-year career. He’s second on the Twins with 11 homers since the All-Star break and sports a .257/.295/.463 line in that time.
It’s not spectacular, but if he did that over a full season next year, Minnesota probably would not be disappointed.
“I came back way too early trying to make a push with the guys we had because we knew what the fortune was if we kept losing,” Lewis said. “Then ultimately we ended up trading away [10] guys. Once that happened at the Deadline, I was really bummed that I just came back a little too soon. My body wasn't necessarily fully trusting ... my mind, my body were off. So it sets you back, and then you have 75 at-bats where it's kind of building up Spring Training timing again.
“It's just hard to manage, man. It's extremely hard. So I feel for everyone who goes through that, and that's what I'm happy about, too. I was healthy, this is my 100th game ... and my body feels great. I feel really good and I'm looking forward to carrying that into next year. That stamina, that excitement, and then go out there and start off fresh and not have any bumps in the road."
The boys are ready': Guardians eye pivotal Tigers set with AL Central on the line
MINNEAPOLIS -- It was close to a perfect weekend for the Guardians, but Sunday afternoon will go into the books as a missed opportunity to make the AL Central race even tighter.
Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis homered and five Twins pitchers combined to cool off the Guardians’ bats as Minnesota claimed the finale of a four-game series with a 6-2 victory at Target Field and snapped Cleveland’s 10-game winning streak.
The loss capped a 6-1 road trip through Detroit and Minnesota and was the Guardians’ 24th game in a 24-day stretch dating back to Aug. 29. They went 18-6 overall and won 15 of their past 17. And yet, in many senses their work is just beginning.
The stage is now set for a huge three-game series between the Tigers and Guardians starting on Tuesday night at Progressive Field. Cleveland has clawed its way back from 15 1/2 games out of first place to pull within a game of Detroit, which entered the weekend with a 3 1/2-game lead before getting swept at home by Atlanta. The Guardians also hold a 6-4 lead in the season series, which would come into play if the teams finish with the same record.
“We couldn't be more excited to get back home,” manager Steven Vogt said. “I know it's school nights, I know people work, but we need our fans. We need to pack out Progressive. ... The boys are ready. We know what’s at stake, and it's going to be a lot of fun this week.”
Vogt’s team gained 9 1/2 games on the Tigers over the past 24 days, and it was made possible by a group of players that decided it would be more fun to fight to the end rather than pack it in when the outlook was bleak.
“I think this last month, a lot of people could say we were out of it,” said outfielder Steven Kwan, who led off Sunday’s game with his 11th homer of the season. “I think [players] could have started looking at their numbers and just tried to look to the offseason. But we've been playing some really unselfish baseball, grinding together, sticking together. It's been really fun, and we’ve got a really exciting week coming up.”
Pitching has carried the Guardians of late, especially the starting rotation. Joey Cantillo gave up one run in 4 1/3 innings on Sunday, extending the franchise record to 17 straight games in which the starting pitchers have given up two or fewer earned runs. That includes Saturday’s doubleheader shutout, when Slade Cecconi and Logan Allen combined to pitch 15 scoreless innings.
The scoreless streak reached 23 innings before the Twins got on the board in the third inning, when Kody Clemens’ RBI single cut the Guardians’ lead to 2-1. The Twins then took their first lead of the series when they pounced on a couple of rare mistakes from relievers David Festa and Hunter Gaddis. Lee’s two-run homer off Festa put the Twins on top 3-2 in the sixth, and Lewis’ pinch-hit, three-run homer off Gaddis in the seventh provided Minnesota some breathing room.
“I haven't seen the replays, but it looked like Festa kind of yanked a fastball down to Lee, and then [Gaddis] just didn't quite get the slider down to Lewis,” Vogt said. “But these guys have been throwing so well. Two mistakes, and they made us pay for them.”
Still, considering how far the Guardians have come, the ground they’ve made up and the exciting finish still to come, one loss doesn’t put a damper on what they’ve accomplished and what they’ve learned about themselves along the way.
“I couldn't be more proud of this group -- 24 games in 24 days, and to do what we did and put ourselves into a position where we have an opportunity to earn our way into the postseason,” Vogt said. “That's all you can ask for. Obviously, ending on a note like today, it can get you down, but this won't get this group down. We're going to come ready to go on Tuesday.”