'Made for this moment': Rookie star Royce Lewis snaps Twins' historic losing streak

MINNEAPOLIS — Royce Lewis was born 11 years after Kirk Gibson’s dramatic World Series home run and was five years old when the Minnesota Twins won their last postseason game, but he kept dreaming of making his own history.

When Lewis walked to the plate Tuesday, listening to the thunderous ovation, he actually stopped before he stepped into the batter’s box. He looked around Target Field at the sellout crowd of 38,450. He looked towards the fans above the Twins dugout. He spun around, and gazed towards the fans sitting in the third-base side above the Toronto Blue Jays’ dugout.

Lewis' amazement wasn't lost on his teammates.

“Did you happen to notice that?" Twins pitcher Dallas Keuchel said. “I mean here he is, his first postseason at-bat and it’s like he wanted to soak everything in. He wasn’t going to be rushed. He was going to take in all of the atmosphere.

“It was like he was saying, 'I love this. This is what it’s all about.’ He wanted to appreciate the situation."

Lewis, 24, stepped in and six pitches later, immediately made history as the youngest player in franchise history to hit a postseason homer in 100 years.

He came to bat again in the third inning and homered again, this time to right field, becoming only the third player in baseball history to hit home runs in his first two postseason plate appearances.

Just like that, Lewis will forever be known as the man who personally ended the longest postseason losing streak in North American sports, a one-man wrecking crew in the Twins’ 3-1 wild-card victory over the Blue Jays.

“I had to soak it all in," Lewis said, standing quietly in front of his locker after most of his teammates departed. “I got that advice from [Twins Hall of Famer] Joe Mauer. The first game, I had to do that. You never know when you're going to be in this situation.

“This is a moment I dreamed of. I thought of that Kirk Gibson homer. I thought of the streak. I thought of everything."

Well, the dream intersected with the Twins’ fantasy, too, knowing they’ll never again have to hear another word about that 18-game postseason losing streak.

“If you weren’t aware of it," Twins reliever Emilio Pagán said, “you’re either dumb or not a baseball fan."

While the entire state of Minnesota agonized over it, the Twins took a different approach to the dubious streak.

“We embraced it," Lewis said, “and ended it. We finally got that monkey off our back.’’

Who can blame the entire state of Minnesota from exhaling in unison at 6:20 p.m. Central Time when first baseman Donovan Solano fielded George Springer’s sizzling shot, flipped to closer Jhoan Duran, securing the Twins’ first time postseason victory since Oct. 5, 2004?

Derek Falvey, Twins president of baseball operations, made his way through the celebratory crowd in the corridor, stepped into the clubhouse, found Lewis, pulled him aside, hugged him and thanked him.

Lewis turned around, broke into an expansive grin, and said, “Hey, I just did what you said. You told me to have fun out there today. So I did."

Falvey laughed, hugged him again, remembering that conversation he had with Lewis before the game.

“I told him, 'You have one rule today, and that’s to have fun,' " Falvey said.

Well, apparently Lewis’ idea of fun is taking it to an historic level, putting on a show that will forever be remembered in Twins’ history.

“We were going crazy," Pagán said. “You’re watching him, you’re excited, you’re shocked and you’re in disbelief. I mean, who does that? That’s crazy.

“It’s not supposed to be that easy. It’s ridiculous what he’s doing.’ It’s mind-blowing."

Oh, if it was only that easy. Lewis has been dealt a rotten hand since being drafted with the first pick in 2017. He underwent a torn ACL in 2021, ending his season before it got started. He made his major-league debut in May 2022, hit a grand slam a week later and then tore the same ACL in his right knee again, ending yet another season.

He battled injuries again all season, but still managed to still hit four grand slams, setting a franchise record. And just when he was knocking on the door to stardom, he strained his left hamstring two weeks ago, threatening to keep him off the playoff roster.

It wasn’t until the Twins’ workout Monday that convinced the club he’d be healthy enough to play. So, they put him on the playoff roster but to be used only as a designated hitter instead of at third base, and instructed him not to run hard.

So after not playing a game for two weeks, he calmly stepped into the national limelight and put on a postseason show for the ages.

“I am so proud of him," Falvey saiid. “The stuff Royce has gone through the last few years. Two ACLs. The hamstring two weeks from the playoffs. How does he just keep his smile? And he has!"

Why, when the players were introductions before the game, no one in the stadium showed more euphoria than Lewis, who jumped up and down along the line, high-fiving every soul, and forgetting that he was supposed to take it easy on that hamstring.

“Honestly, it was just a dream being announced," Lewis said. “How can I ever be down? I get to play baseball for a living. This is what I always wanted. It means everything to me."

The Twins fed off Lewis’ energy the entire game, making a slew of stunning plays, with starter Pablo Lopez sporting a Johan Santana jersey and pitching like the former Twins’ great, and the bullpen stepping in and to record the final 10 outs.

“You see him, and he’s the highest energy guy," said Twins center fielder Michael Taylor, who made two spectacular defensive plays. “We were going nuts watching him. We’re of on the edge of our seats seeing what he’s going to do next.

“He’s made for this moment.’’

The Twins shouldn’t be stunned. They see him every day. They saw him hit four grand slams in an 18-game span from Aug. 27 to Sept. 15 this season. No Twin had ever hit four grand slams in an entire season. He had seven consecutive hits in one stretch this summer.

But to do actually hit two home runs in your first postseason game?

Come on.

“I can't believe sometimes the things that he's doing,’’ Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said, “they're that impressive. He's a special player. I haven’t seen people doing the things that he's doing right now.’’

The scary part?

He’s just getting started.

Said Pagán: “I can’t wait to see what he does next."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Royce Lewis, Twins' rookie star, snaps historic playoff losing streak