Royce Lewis is in the middle of an 0-for-20 slump that doubles as the perfect metaphor for how things are going for the Minnesota Twins right now.
Like Lewis, the Twins have shown just how electric they can be at certain points this season. After a sluggish start to the year, Minnesota ripped off a 12 game winnning streak and pulled itself back into the AL Central race. Lewis hit a home run in his first at-bat of the season and was easily one of the best and most exciting players in baseball for stretches over the summer.
Both of them have seemingly run out of gas, though.
Minnesota is trending hard in the wrong direction at the worst possible time, as the Twins are in serious danger of falling out of the postseason picture. Meanwhile, Lewis has become one of the team's most unreliable hitters, having seemingly lost the magic he had earlier this year.
It's no coincidence that the highs and lows line up with one another. Fans are losing faith that things can turn around, but Lewis is making bold proclamations of light at the end of the tunnel during the darkest stretch of the season.
Royce Lewis thinks Twins can go on a World Series run like the Diamondbacks did last year
Minnesota has lost 16 of its last 21 games, and it seems that we still haven't hit rock bottom yet. Each night feels like a new low point, but Lewis tried to flip the script and reverse the vibes after Monday's loss to the Angels.
Lewis compared the Twins to last year's Diamondbacks team that went on a World Series run after looking dead in the water at this point last year.
Royce believes there’s a 2023 Diamondbacks run in this #MNTwins team.
— Declan Goff (@DexsTweets) September 10, 2024
Last year on Sept. 9, Arizona was 75-68 and they actually lost 6 of their 9 games to end the regular season.
We’ll see where the chips fall and maybe Ace Hardware can provide some lumber for this team. pic.twitter.com/Y5bfzDzvuz
Is this an episode of The X-Files, because we all so desperately want to believe.
Lewis is throwing out the right vibes, but there's a few pretty key differences between the Diamondbacks last year and where the Twins are now. Both teams might have the same record, but that's where the comparisons end; Arizona had healthy pitching and a reliable bullpen, while the Twins are missing their best starter and have exactly one reliever they can count on.
Outside of Griffin Jax, there's not a soul in the Twins bullpen that fans can confidently believe in.
Jorge Alcala has fallen apart recently, Jhoan Duran is a wild card, and middle relief has been a mess. The rotation has done what it can in the absence of Ryan, but Bailey Ober putting in solid work only to have it undone by the bullpen is the exactly the sort of stuff that results in quick playoff exits.
Beyond the pitching issues, the Twins lineup has been eaten alive by the injury bug. Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa are on the IL with no clear timeline for their return, while Max Kepler is also out. With just three games separating Minnesota from being on the wrong side of the playoff bubble, the team is relying on Triple-A veterans like DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Michael Helman to fill roster gaps.
Lewis is nothing if not the single most positive person in any room he enters and there's still a decent chance the Twins can turn things around. If Buxton and Correa return, the bullpen figures things out, and guys like Lewis and Brooks Lee start hitting again, a competitive run in October is very possible.
None of that is happening right now, though, and the Twins are running out of time to hit a stride.
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