Fastball

Minnesota Twins Slugger Ties Former American League MVP on This Historic List

The Minnesota Twins desperately needed a win on Sunday afternoon and Royce Lewis delivered it.

Brady Farkas

Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis (23) hits a three-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth inning at Target Field on Sept 1.
Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis (23) hits a three-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth inning at Target Field on Sept 1. / Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
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The Minnesota Twins earned a much-needed 4-3 victory on Sunday afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays. With the win, the Twins moved to 74-62 on the year. They are now tied with the Kansas City Royals for the second wild card spot in the American League. Both teams are just 3.5 games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central.

The Twins had to rally late to earn the victory, getting a three-home run in the eighth inning from Royce Lewis to turn a 3-1 deficit into the 4-3 win.

Lewis, one of the premier sluggers in the league, now has 16 homers this season in just 201 at-bats. He only has so few at-bats because of multiple stints on the injured list, something which has unfortunately been commonplace for him early in his career.

However, when he does play, he's one of the best sluggers in American League history, according to @StatsCentre:

Most home runs - American League player through their first 127 career games:
42- Mark McGwire
39- Rudy York
37- Aaron Judge
36- Gary Sanchez
35- Yordan Alvarez
33- Royce Lewis (Via his go-ahead 3 run shot in today's 4-3 @Twins win vs the Blue Jays)
33- Jose Abreu
33- Matt Olson

If Lewis was to make it through an entire season, he'd easily be a 40-home run threat, but he has to prove he can stay healthy that long first.

The 25-year-old is hitting .259 this season and has 43 RBI. If the Twins are going to make the playoffs - and make noise there - then they'll need to get a top-notch contribution from Lewis down the stretch. He's the kind of player that can carry a lineup.

The Twins will be in action on Labor Day Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays. First pitch from Tampa Bay is set for 6:50 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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