Royce Lewis makes Twins history by hitting birthday home run

NEW YORK – Royce Lewis walked around Central Park with his family and checked other items off his tourist checklist to celebrate his 25th birthday Wednesday.

Then he did something else in typical Royce Lewis fashion: He homered.

Lewis clobbered a solo homer to left field off New York Yankees reliever Dennis Santana in the seventh inning Wednesday. He became the first player in Twins history to hit a homer in each of his first three games of the season.

“What he does when he returns from long breaks is really nothing short of remarkable,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. homered in his first three games of the season this year. The last time a player homered in the first four games of the season was Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich in 2019. Lewis already became the first player in Twins history to reach base safely in his first five plate appearances of the season, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Lewis said it would’ve meant more to him if he didn’t miss two months between games.

“I’m just trying to prove I belong here and I’m going to earn a spot every day still,” said Lewis, who hit a grand slam on his birthday in 2018 when he played in Class A ball. “Even though I turned 25 and I look 35, I’m still young. I’m just trying to learn and grow each day.”

It’s not supposed to look this easy for a player who appeared in fewer than 80 major league games and missed as much time as he has with injuries.

“When he’s been playing, he’s been unbelievable,” Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “I think everybody is excited to see what a healthy Royce Lewis can do. Everybody wishes and hopes he can stay healthy and not deal with anything anymore.”

Lewis explains his success as just trying to “stay within myself” and not lose focus on any pitch.

“I tend to do that when the lights are a little bit brighter,” Lewis said. “I like playing here. They feed you well. They do all the good things to make you play comfortable, so I appreciate it.”

Lewis chatted with Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the first time when Judge reached third base in the third inning during Tuesday’s series opener.

“I just told him he’s got to stop hitting all these homers,” Lewis said. “He said every time he sees me play, I hit a homer.”

Baseball America released an updated Top 100 prospects list Wednesday and the Twins landed five players in the rankings.

Center fielder Walker Jenkins (No. 7 overall), center fielder Emmanuel Rodriguez (No. 16) and shortstop Brooks Lee (No. 45) have been consensus top-50 prospects since the offseason. Jenkins and Lee have missed most of the season because of injuries, but the 21-year-old Rodriguez owns a .479 on-base percentage in Class AA with eight homers, 20 RBI and nearly as many walks (42) as strikeouts (46) in 37 games.

The additions to the top-100 list are second baseman Luke Keaschall (No. 66), a second-round pick in 2023, and righthander Zebby Matthews (No. 100). Both players were recently promoted to AA Wichita. Keaschall is batting .326 with seven homers, 23 RBI and 15 stolen bases through 52 games while posting a .440 on-base percentage.

Matthews, an eighth-round pick in 2022, posted a 1.58 ERA through eight starts with 55 strikeouts and two walks in 45⅓ innings.

* After a rain delay, Brooks Lee made his season debut with the Class AAA St. Paul Saints on Wednesday, hitting an RBI single and drawing a walk in a 5-1 victory at CHS Field. Edouard Julien, demoted to make room for Lewis on the Twins roster, homered in the first inning against the Syracuse Mets.