Royce Lewis returns to grand slam form as Twins beat White Sox

That wasn't the only big play from Lewis in this one. He put together one of the most impressive performances of his career, albeit without the stakes of some of his previous highlights (the White Sox and Twins entered this game with the two worst records in the American League).

After the White Sox tied the game at 4, Lewis singled in the sixth inning and stole a base for the second time this season, then scored the go-ahead run on a Trevor Larnach hit. The Twins would take an 8-4 lead in the seventh and appeared to be headed for a relatively stress-free win despite a rough showing from starter Zebby Matthews (8 hits, 3 walks, 4 earned runs over 4.2 innings).

But Chicago mounted a threat off of the Twins' bullpen in the bottom of the eighth. They loaded the bases off of Genesis Cabrera with a walk, a single, and another walk. Justin Topa came in, walked in a run, and then allowed a pair of run-scoring singles to make it 8-7.

That's when Lewis showed up on the defensive side of the ball. He ranged into foul ground to catch a pop fly from Colson Montgomery, then rifled a throw home to nail Miguel Vargas, who boldly tried to tag and score on the play.

To cap off a brilliant evening on the south side of Chicago, Lewis singled again in the top of the ninth, which moved Lee into scoring position and set up an RBI knock from Byron Buxton for an insurance run. Topa settled down in the bottom of the ninth and finished off the victory with his third save of the season.

Lewis (3 for 5), Buxton, Luke Keaschall, and Edouard Julien had multi-hit games in the win.

Next up: Twins at White Sox at 6:10 p.m. on Saturday. Mick Abel, acquired from the Phillies in the Jhoan Duran trade, will be making his Twins debut on the mound.