Royce Lewis hit two home runs for his second multi-homer game of his career — and first in the regular season — as the Minnesota Twins went deep four times to beat the Colorado Rockies 7-1 in Denver on Sunday.
Matt Wallner and Harrison Bader also homered to back seven strong innings from starter Joe Ryan. Ryan (10-4) tied his season high with 11 strikeouts, didn’t walk a batter and gave up one run on five hits.
Christian Vazquez had three hits and Kody Clemens contributed two hits for Minnesota, which avoided a sweep.
Colorado starter German Marquez took a line drive off of the heel of his glove in the first inning but stayed in the game through the third.
Mickey Moniak homered, Jordan Beck had three hits and Ryan McMahon doubled twice for the Rockies.
Marquez walked the leadoff batter in each of the first three innings. While he worked around them the first two times, the Twins capitalized in the third.
Castro walked, went to second on a groundout and scored on Clemens’ triple to right field. Ty France hit into a forceout, but Wallner homered just over the scoreboard in right to make it 3-0.
It was his 11th of the season.
Marquez (3-11) left after allowing three runs on four hits and walking four.
Moniak got a run back in the bottom of the frame when he hit a solo homer, his 14th of the year, off the facing of the third deck in right field.
Lewis led off the fourth with his first homer of the day to restore the three-run lead, and Bader followed with a homer just over the scoreboard in right in the sixth.
Minnesota threatened for more, but Vazquez was thrown out trying to advance from first to third on Trevor Larnach’s single. Lewis hit another solo shot, his fourth of the season, with one out in the eighth.
It was Lewis’ second career multi-homer game. He also accomplished the feat in an AL Wild Card matchup in 2023 that helped the Twins stop a record 18-game postseason losing streak.
Castro capped the scoring when he led off the ninth with a triple and went home when the relay throw to third went into the Twins dugout.
Royce Lewis homers twice to lift Twins over Rockies
