Royce Lewis visibly erupted in frustration after a sixth-inning fly ball was caught, repeatedly slamming his helmet and yelling in the Twins dugout. Manager Rocco Baldelli described venting as a normal, sometimes necessary response to the game's frustrations. Lewis's offensive numbers are at career lows: .225 batting average, .287 on-base percentage, .361 slugging percentage, .658 OPS and 77 OPS+. The slump began at the end of last season and has persisted through this year. Lewis said he hasn't felt comfortable at the plate, finds in-season adjustments difficult because they affect stats, and is trying to balance performance with family responsibilities. He did show a July uptick, hitting .293 and hitting three of the team's six home runs entering Friday.
Royce Lewis watched his sixth-inning fly ball die on the warning track on Thursday afternoon, landing in the glove of Athletics left fielder Tyler Soderstrom, and retreated back to the first-base dugout at Target Field, where he proceeded to remove his helmet and slam it. And then, in the far corner of the dugout, he kept slamming it before letting out a yell.
The search for answers has been a constant one for Lewis, who said he hasn't felt comfortable at the plate all year. "It's hard to make a full in-season adjustment because you can try that and those 30 at-bats of trial go towards your stats," Lewis said. "I'm fighting for taking care of myself and my family. I don't want to put any of those stats in jeopardy. But feeling like I've been on an island, it's kind of tough."
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