The headlines may have belonged to Royce Lewis but fellow Minnesota Twins rookies Jose Miranda and Josh Winder stole the show in a 2-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.
Lewis was the main attraction as he made his major league debut filling in for Carlos Correa, who is out with a bruised finger. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft went 1-for-4, earning his first major league hit on a single in the eighth inning.
Royce Lewis has his first hit in the bigs!#mntwins pic.twitter.com/zOFEzLSFFV
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) May 7, 2022
While many fans were focused on Lewis, Winder did his job on the mound. Coming off a strong start against the Tampa Bay Rays, the right-hander was sharp again, allowing one run on three hits while striking out eight batters over six innings.
The Twins backed Winder with a pair of long balls. After hitting 30 home runs in the minors last season, Miranda hit his first in the major leagues, sending a Zach Logue fastball into the second deck to put Minnesota on the board in the second inning.
After the rookies had their moment, it was time for Byron Buxton to shine, launching his MLB-leading ninth home run in the fifth inning.
Eventually you have to pitch to Buxton. After two earlier walks, this just happened đź’Łđź’Łđź’Ł#mntwins pic.twitter.com/q60hIWna0c
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) May 7, 2022
The Twins held onto a 2-1 lead into the ninth inning where Angel Pagan loaded the bases before forcing Seth Brown to groundout and striking out Chad Pinder to secure the victory.
Winners of 11 of their past 14 games, the Twins will look to keep rolling when they continue their series with the Athletics on Saturday afternoon.
