Royce Lewis Stuck at .133 After Three More Strikeouts
Royce Lewis kept slumping Sunday, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts before the Twins lifted him for a pinch hitter late in a 5-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Target Field. He is hitting.133/.189/.191 with 25 whiffs in 68 at-bats since coming off the injured list on April 21.
Target Field exposed the slump
Lewis struck out 10 times in his last 30 plate appearances over eight games, and his season strikeout rate has climbed to 31 percent, well above his 22 percent career rate before this year. He also tried to bunt for a hit twice in the sixth inning Sunday and fouled off both pitches before striking out on the next pitch from Milwaukee’s Grant Anderson in his final at-bat.
The rough stretch started showing up early in the game. Lewis struck out to end the first inning after swinging at nine of the 10 pitches thrown by Robert Gasser, then chased an 0-2 fastball above the zone for strike three two innings later. He also committed an error on a possible inning-ending double-play ball in the fourth inning of Saturday night’s one-run loss.
Derek Shelton weighs a reset
Twins manager Derek Shelton said Lewis has been grinding a little bit and may be overswinging. “He’s grinding a little bit, maybe a bit of overswinging,” Shelton said Sunday about Lewis. “There’s a situation where guys, they don’t have their A swing, and they try to overswing to do too much.”
“It’s challenging when you’re going through a tough stretch,” Shelton said. “The biggest thing we have to do is continue to encourage, continue to work, continue to stay positive. … It would be different if he wasn”
Lewis suggested in Washington earlier this month that team decision-makers are hoping he fails so they can demote him to the minor leagues or trade him. After Matt Wallner’s recent demotion to Triple-A St. Paul, the Twins could offer Lewis the same move, giving him a chance to work on his swing without having to produce against major-league pitching every night.
Twins roster pressure rises
If the Twins decide to make that move, Orlando Arcia is one veteran infielder they could use. He is batting.318/.376/.556 with eight home runs for the Saints, and the club would need to free up a spot on the 40-man roster to add either Arcia or Triple-A shortstop Kalen Culpepper, whom the organization views as a long-term solution and its 2024 first-rounder.
Lewis already got two days off during the club’s last trip, but the results did not change. Another difficult game ended with him on the bench and the Twins still searching for a answer that fits both his bat and their roster.
