Twins place Royce Lewis on injured list, welcome back DaShawn Keirsey Jr.
The Twins announced on Sunday that they placed Royce Lewis on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain he suffered while rounding first base after notching a single in the ninth inning in Minnesota’s 10-3 loss to the Houston Astros at Daikin Park Friday night. As a corresponding move, the Twins recalled outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. from Triple-A St. Paul.
We have made the following roster move pic.twitter.com/00luNQWK1n
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) June 15, 2025
Lewis has struggled this season, slashing .202/.282/.303 with two home runs and nine RBI in 110 plate appearances. However, he has recently shown the side of himself that posted 2.4 bWAR in 58 games in 2023, hitting .429/.500/.619 over his last 21 at-bats. With Pablo López and Zebby Matthews' injuries, along with Bailey Ober struggling with a hip issue, Lewis’ hamstring strain came at a terrible time for the Twins.
Many people likely assumed that with Lewis landing on the IL, an infielder like José Miranda or Edouard Julien would get called up. Minnesota’s reasoning for promoting Keirsey makes sense, as Brooks Lee and Willi Castro will most likely split time at third base in Lewis’ absence. If Miranda or Julien had earned a promotion, they probably would not have had many opportunities to start. Keirsey, who hit .109/.136/.156 in 66 plate appearances with the Twins this season, won’t be starting much either, but he at least provides value as a defensive replacement and pinch runner.
Byron Buxton cleared to play Sunday after injury scare
The Twins got another scare when Buxton was removed from Saturday’s game against the Astros after he got hit with a sinker from Hunter Brown on his left elbow. Luckily, Buxton is in the starting lineup for the series finale on Sunday.
Minnesota Twins aim to avoid series sweep from the Houston Astros
Game 3 of the three-game series between the Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros is scheduled to commence at 1:10 p.m. CT on Sunday at Daikin Park in Houston. Righty Simeon Woods Richardson (5.74 ERA in 42 ⅓ innings) is slated to make the start on the mound for Minnesota, and lefty Brandon Walter (1.64 ERA in 11 innings) is expected to start for Houston.