'Definitely disappointing': Injuries continue to haunt Twins in Houston 

HOUSTON -- Belying a voice that was, as usual, upbeat and positive, Royce Lewis on Saturday made it sound like baseball keeps stealing his lunch money.

“I’m tired of being the one that’s getting bullied and picked on by this game,” said the Twins' third baseman, who is going back on the injured list with a mild strain of his left hamstring.

Lewis, who has produced a .367/.457/.533 slash line in 10 games in June after entering the month at .130/.200/.203 over his first 20 games of the season, was hurt Friday night when running to first base on a ninth-inning single to left field.

“It feels like whether it wants me to suffer on the offensive side [in May] or, when I’m going hot, it wants to kick me out with an injury. It seems like it’s just picking on me at this moment,” Lewis said. “And so I’m just waiting for one of my friends to pick me up and stop this bully.”

IL stints have been the bane of the 26-year-old Lewis. Not only has he suffered two ACL tears in his right knee since the Twins drafted him No. 1 overall in 2017, he has missed time with strains ranging from the abductor to the hamstring to the oblique to the quad.

Lewis suffered a left hamstring strain in March and didn’t make his 2025 debut until May 6. This time, at least, he can pinpoint a silver lining.

“With the other one, it was completely torn, and so it definitely hurt more,” said Lewis, who had an MRI on Saturday. “Going to sleep that night, way more pain. This one, it was like, waking up, felt better this morning. And so that was automatically a good sign.”

The Twins were dealt an additional blow during Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Astros when Byron Buxton departed with a left elbow contusion. Buxton was hit on the elbow by a 94.7 mph Hunter Brown sinker in the sixth inning, but he considered himself day to day, as did manager Rocco Baldelli.

“He caught it square,” Baldelli said. “There was no two ways about that. And it’s gonna hurt. You hope it just kind of catches part of the arm or the body that you can handle, but he feels it, and he’s having trouble moving it too, too much. We’re not worried long term, but right now, he’s hurting.”

Buxton didn’t leave the game immediately, stealing second base with the score tied at 2. He even returned to center field for the bottom of the sixth. Harrison Bader replaced him in the seventh.

“I knew if I went into the dugout, they probably wouldn’t let me come back out, so I chose not to go back to the dugout,” Buxton said. “And when I went back out to the field, it just wasn’t … didn’t want to put us in a bad position, so I made a smart decision. I’ll get ready for tomorrow.”

Like Lewis, Buxton has been swinging a hot bat after enduring his own IL stint. He was out from May 16-30 after being concussed by a collision with shortstop Carlos Correa. In his past 15 games, Buxton has gotten on base at a .431 clip (hitting .321) and driven in 15 runs.

At the least, Baldelli must deal with the loss of Lewis. One of the manager’s chief third-base options is Brooks Lee, who extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a two-run homer that accounted for Minnesota’s scoring on Saturday.

“Definitely disappointing,” Baldelli said of losing Lewis. “It’s not a severe strain, but it is a strain. It’s going to keep him off the field for a little bit. But these are things we deal with. … [We have to] move forward, challenge guys.”

Minnesota starter Joe Ryan was up to his challenge Saturday. With the Twins having surrendered double-digit runs in three of their previous four games, Ryan threw seven stellar innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out seven.

After allowing a two-run homer to Yainer Diaz in the third, Ryan retired 12 consecutive batters before issuing his second walk to Jake Meyers. The Twins lost on Cam Smith’s walk-off single in the ninth off Jhoan Duran.

The Twins will try to avoid a sweep Sunday before heading to Cincinnati. Lewis was unsure if he would accompany them or head back to Minneapolis to get a jump on his recovery.

“I just want to know how long [I’ll be out], honestly, because I’m ready to start working and start hitting again,” said Lewis, who wasn’t given a timetable regarding his return. “I’m looking forward to just pushing through and working hard and getting after this thing.”