Minnesota Twins Slugger Royce Lewis Joins Exclusive Company With Latest Home Run

Royce Lewis crushed his ninth home run of the season and 26th home run of his career during Thursday's game between the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays.

Jun 19, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis (23) celebrates hitting a solo home run against the Tampa Bay Rays in the fifth inning at Target Field. / Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota Twins designated hitter Royce Lewis crushed yet another home run against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, extending his historic hot streak at the plate.

Lewis missed the entirety of April and May, after all, making his nine home runs so far this season all the more impressive.

The 25-year-old's latest bomb came in the bottom of the third inning Thursday, tying the score 2-2 after flying 373 feet to left. There were plenty more runs to be scored, though, and Lewis' homer was largely overshadowed by Jose Miranda's clutch three-run shot that sent the game to extras.

From there, the Rays scored in the top of the 10th to steal another win at Target Field, further burying Lewis' early highlight in a 7-6 defeat. Lewis actually got caught trying to tag from second to third on the first play of the bottom of the 10th to all but kill the Twins' comeback chances, although Jose Siri's perfect throw was certainly the headliner on that play.

Lewis finished the afternoon 1-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout. He is now batting .377 with a 1.377 OPS through 15 appearances this season.

Per MLB.com's Sarah Langs, Lewis' nine home runs are tied for the eighth-most by a player through their first 15 games of a season in league history. Mike Schmidt set the record with 12 in 1976, and Alex Rodriguez tied that mark in 2007.

The short list of players to reach 10 homers in 15 games includes Albert Pujols, Luis Gonzalez, Willie Stargell and Willie Mays. Aristides Aquino is the only player to reach double-digits in the past 16 seasons, doing so with the Cincinnati Reds in 2019.

Royce Lewis has 9 HR

only players with MORE in their first 15 games of a season:

2007 Alex Rodriguez: 12
1976 Mike Schmidt: 12
2019 Aristides Aquino: 10
2006 Albert Pujols: 10
2001 Luis Gonzalez: 10
1971 Willie Stargell: 10
1964 Willie Mays: 10 https://t.co/GXAh66a1bc

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) June 20, 2024

Lewis' power surge started long before these past few weeks, however.

As noted by Underdog Fantasy's Justin Havens, Lewis has hit 24 home runs since Aug. 23, 2023, including postseason. Stretching that over a full season, Lewis would be on pace to hit 83 home runs over a 162-game stretch.

Lewis made his MLB debut in 2022, but tore his ACL soon after. Upon his return in 2023, he was again limited to just 58 games due to a hamstring strain, an oblique strain and a head laceration. And after just one appearance in 2024, Lewis spent two months on the injured list with a strained right quad.

Through it all, Lewis has done plenty of damage when he has been available.

Per Langs, Lewis' 26 home runs through 85 career games rank seventh all-time.

Rudy York has owned the record since 1937, when he reached 31 home runs at the same point of his career. Mark McGwire made it to 30, Jose Abreu had 29, Pete Alonso and Cody Bellinger had 28 and Yordan Alvarez had 27.

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