Royce Lewis hits a pair of home runs in support of Joe Ryan in Twins win

DENVER Christian V zquez had three hits on Sunday threw out a runner attempting to steal a base and helped guide Joe Ryan to yet another quality start But perhaps the veteran catcher s impact in Sunday s win goes even further than that Every time I hit in front of him and he bats behind me I get good pitches to hit disclosed third baseman Royce Lewis who hit two home runs in the Twins - win over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday at Coors Field That s what he was saying and he s not wrong I m pretty sure I ve reliably done various good stuff when I hit in front of him I don t know if that s a trend or what It sure was the scenario on Sunday The third baseman hit a solo home run to center field in the fourth inning blasting a slider out feet He did it again in the eighth sending a first-pitch slider out to left-center field raising his left arm up in the air after he trotted past first base before continuing on with a variety of celebrations as he rounded the bases It was his first career multi-home run encounter in the regular season He also accomplished the feat in the playoffs The two home runs he hit Sunday which came in front of his grandparents and other family members doubled his total for the season I felt athletic like I just kind of went up and threw specific approaches out of the window and just played the challenge like I was in Little League Lewis announced Lewis who stood in front of his locker in the Coors Field visiting clubhouse Saturday after being pinch hit for the night before mentioned he wished to get back to the Royce of old amid a season that has been seen him endure injuries and underperformance For one day at least he did It was beautiful declared manager Rocco Baldelli who had a lengthy conversation with Lewis before the event He felt like himself in a lot of tactics this day I don t think he could have looked much better His home runs were two of four for the Twins - on the day Matt Wallner and Harrison Bader also left the park while Willi Castro added a Little League home run a triple combined with an error that allowed him to count in the win It all came on a day where Ryan was yet again nearly untouchable The All-Star starter picked up where he left off in the first half of the season throwing seven innings of one-run ball before the Twins turned the tournament over to Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran to finish off the win Ryan struck out Rockies - hitters matching a season high and scattered five hits with no walks in his outing He pitched the way he pitched in the All-Star Encounter and he pitched the way he pitched before the All-Star Competition Baldelli mentioned This is the way he pitches and I m never surprised to see it but he was absolutely on point all day long and gave us a great chance to win the challenge with an outing like that The only blemish on his day was a solo home run to Mickey Moniak in the third making it - at the time after the Twins had scored three runs earlier in the inning They would never trail on their way to avoiding a sweep on Sunday Everyone just played good baseball nowadays Ryan mentioned I felt like it was a little lighter conditions just playing free Related Articles Where s Royce Twins third baseman Royce Lewis searching for answers Twins welcome Royce Lewis back from injured list Twins star Royce Lewis will DH for Saints in rehab assignment Twins have chosen torrid June hitters but it hasn t helped in standings Twins third baseman Royce Lewis headed to injured list