MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins had Friday night’s game against the Cardinals won and lost multiple times. Finally, their corner infielders put it away once and for all.
Royce Lewis tied the game with a leadoff homer in the eighth inning, and Brooks Lee followed with a solo homer one out later to give the Twins a wild 9-8 victory over the Cardinals at Target Field.
Lewis, who has two home runs in six games since being recalled from Triple-A St. Paul, said he had a good feeling when he returned to the dugout after the top of the seventh despite the Cardinals having just scored four runs to take a 7-4 lead.
“When we came in, I looked at every guy in the eyes, and there was no fear, no one was down,” Lewis said. “The energy was up. Just like, ‘Let's go get ‘em.’”
Luke Keaschall and Byron Buxton drew walks to bring up Kody Clemens as the tying run with two outs. Clemens launched a three-run shot into the right-field stands that tied the game at 7, setting up Lewis and Lee’s eighth-inning heroics.
“That’s a full team victory,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “Give a ton of credit to the hitting group, [hitting coach] Keith Beauregard and his group. Because we continued to battle. We’re up, we’re down, we’re back. And we continued to go.”
After trailing 3-1 early, the Twins fought back to take a 4-3 lead in the sixth. Buxton led off with a double, his third extra-base hit of the night. He came around on a Josh Bell double, and Lewis hit a sacrifice fly to give them a short-lived lead.
It was short-lived, because Jordan Walker’s three-run double capped a four-run rally in the top of the seventh, giving St. Louis a 7-4 lead. But Clemens took Ryne Stanek (2-1) deep for his 10th homer of the season to tie it back up.
“Regardless of where he goes on the field, in big moments, nothing gets too big for him,” Shelton said. “I mean, he grew up in a pretty good family for that. But I think it’s a credit to Kody.”
The Cardinals scored again off the Twins’ bullpen in the eighth, though Anthony Banda retired two batters with the bases loaded to keep it a one-run game. That proved important when Lewis slammed Stanek’s first pitch into the second deck in left field to tie the game.
It was part of a dynamic performance for Lewis, who went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs while continuing to adjust well to his new position at first base.
After struggling for much of the past two years, Lewis is trying to get back to being the high-energy player who when healthy has been a catalyst for much of the team’s success.
“It’s palpable,” Shelton said of Lewis’ energy. “It’s the first time I’ve seen it. Early in the year, he was trying to find his way. And then I think sometimes you need confidence back. And, again, I’m going to reiterate, he went down and did everything he needed to do, forced his way back here, and now he’s got some confidence, and I think we’re seeing it.”
One out after Lewis’ homer, Lee hit his 11th home run almost to the same spot as Clemens’ homer, giving the Twins a 9-8 lead.
Andrew Morris, the fifth reliever used by the Twins, pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his second save.
“Man, it's so fun to see these guys continue to fight,” said Lewis. “It was special, and I’m just glad to be a part of it.”