IMPACT PLAYER: Royce Lewis, Twins
Twins-Toronto Game 1 recap: Royce Lewis is player of the game
Royce Lewis homered in each of his first two at-bats Tuesday, powering the Twins to a 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of their AL wild-card series.
October 4, 2023 at 1:50AM
Coming back from a hamstring injury, the designated hitter homered twice and drove in all of the Twins' runs. He's the 10th rookie in major league history with a multi-homer postseason game and the second player overall in Twins history (Gary Gaetti, 1987 ALCS) to do so.
By the numbers
3 Players in major league history who have homered in their first two career postseason at-bats — Lewis, Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria (2008) and Gaetti (1987).
3 Strikeouts in 5⅔ innings for Twins starter Pablo López, tying a season low.
4 Venezuelan-born pitchers who have have started a playoff game for the Twins —López won Tuesday 19 years after Johan Santana started the Twins' last playoff victory in 2004. The other Venezuelans are Les Straker and Carlos Silva.
6 Consecutive losses by the Blue Jays in the postseason.
Twins shortstop Carlos Correa is arguably their best player and easily their most expensive one. He’s frequently injured and a payroll-strapped team is up for sale. It feels like the Twins can’t afford to keep Correa, but the same is true of losing him.
