Royce Lewis #23 of the Minnesota Twins looks on against the Kansas City Royals on May 29, 2022 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ((Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - If it wasn’t for bad luck with injuries, Minnesota Twins infielder Royce Lewis would have no luck at all.
Sidelined two straight seasons with knee injuries, Lewis was leading the Twins with a .326 batting average and had four homers, two doubles and 15 RBI. The future star infielder is back on the injured list again, after suffering a left oblique strain last Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
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Twins prospect Royce Lewis talks return from knee injury
Twins shortstop and top prospect Royce Lewis talked with Fox 9's Jim Rich on Thursday as he's working his way back from a knee injury with the St. Paul Saints.
"It felt like someone stabbed a knife in my back, and it just kept getting worse and worse as I ran each step," Lewis told reporters after the injury in Baltimore.
Lewis suffered the injury running to first base on a groundout. He left the game, and manager Rocco Baldelli said earlier this week he’ll miss up to six weeks. Lewis is just 24 years old and was the No. 1 overall pick in 2017. He’ll now miss the rest of July and part of August as the Twins are 44-43 and have a one-game lead over Cleveland in the American League Central Division.
"You don't want to be hurt and just on the sidelines. At the same time, I can only control what I can control. I can't control whether I had an oblique [injury] or not. Now it's just where do I go from here? Just like the ACL. Knock on wood, this isn't a year. That definitely makes it a lot easier to deal with. Every other time I was on the IL, it was for a full year, and I had no control over how I could come back or not," Lewis said.
With Lewis out, Jose Miranda will step in at third base.
SONNY GRAY IS AN ALL-STAR
The Twins have been atop the AL Central almost the entire season, and they’ll have at least one representative at Major League Baseball’s mid-summer classic.
Starting pitcher Sonny Gray was named to the American League All-Star roster. Gray is 4-2 in 17 starts and in 93.2 innings pitched, he has a 2.50 earned run average with 96 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting just .232 off him.
Gray has given up just three home runs this season, and will be an All-Star for the third time.
The Twins finish a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals Wednesday night before an off-day Thursday, then host the Orioles for three games before the All-Star break next week.