Royce Lewis endured one of the lowest points of his career after a slow start this season led to a demotion to the minor leagues last month.
But the Minnesota Twins also know about the high points that can be provided by Lewis, 27, the top overall pick of the 2017 MLB Draft.
They hope he is on the path to a hot streak after his eighth-inning home run tied the score in a 9-8 comeback victory in Friday’s series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals in Minneapolis. Brooks Lee’s homer later in the eighth was the game-winner.
The Twins and Cardinals will square off again Saturday afternoon in the second contest of a three-game set.
Twins manager Derek Shelton said Lewis’ homer on Friday could prove contagious. After his demotion, Lewis hit well for Triple-A St. Paul, and his blast in the series opener against the Cardinals set off a big celebration in the Minnesota dugout.
“It’s palpable,” Shelton said. “That’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.
“Again, I want to reiterate: He went down and did everything he needed to do and forced his way back here. Now, he’s got some confidence, and I think we’re seeing it.”
The Twins need one more win to secure their first series victory since June 1-3 against the Chicago White Sox. Minnesota will go for back-to-back victories on Saturday for the first time since the first two contests of that series vs. the White Sox.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals will try to win Saturday to force a rubber match in the series finale. St. Louis has lost back-to-back contests following a six-game winning streak.
The Cardinals could turn to rookie Blaze Jordan at third base again Saturday. He notched his first career hit in the series opener and drove in a run after the team promoted him and sent Nolan Gorman to Triple-A Memphis.
“My hope in all this — and I want to be super clear on this — (is that) I and we as an organization are not giving up on Nolan Gorman,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said.
Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore (3-3, 4.48 ERA) is scheduled to make his 14th start of the season on Saturday. He has 61 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings.
Liberatore will look to improve on a bumpy outing last Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds. He drew a no-decision but allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits in 4 1/3 innings as the Cardinals won 6-5.
This will be Liberatore’s third career appearance and second career start against Minnesota. He is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA vs. the club and has walked two and struck out one in 6 2/3 innings.
The Twins will counter with left-hander Connor Prielipp (2-4, 5.15 ERA), who will make the 10th start of his rookie campaign. He has struck out seven in each of his past two starts.
Prielipp is coming off a 6-5 loss in his most recent outing Sunday against the Kansas City Royals. He gave up two runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings.
This will be Prielipp’s first career appearance against St. Louis. He is 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in two career interleague starts.
–Field Level Media
