Royce Lewis, Ryan Jeffers hit three-run homers and Twins put up football score against Tigers

Bobby Nightengale, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Sep 1, 2026

Published in Baseball

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MINNEAPOLIS — All it took to ignite the Minnesota Twins’ offense Tuesday, in a 15-2 blowout victory over the Detroit Tigers, was one poorly located throw.

This came before the Twins erupted for a 10-run sixth inning. It came before Royce Lewis and Ryan Jeffers drilled separate three-run homers.

With the score tied in the fifth inning, the Twins had runners on second and third base with one out. Walker Jenkins hit a slow grounder to the shortstop, and Trevor Larnach was toast when he started running toward the plate.

Tigers shortstop John Peck threw home, and Larnach retreated toward third. Dillon Dingler, Detroit’s Gold Glove catcher, overthrew third baseman Hao-Yu Lee, the ball rolling into the outfield, and the Twins scored two runs on Dingler’s throwing error.

From that point, a game turned into a beatdown. Luke Keaschall pushed an RBI double down the third-base line on the next pitch.

Then the sixth inning arrived where the Twins sent 15 batters to the plate, producing 10 runs, eight hits, three walks and one hit batsman against three Tigers pitchers. There were two instances where the Twins had six consecutive hitters reach base.

The Twins, who have won three in a row, remain 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot in the American League wild-card race with 23 games left in their season.

Lewis ended starter Troy Melton’s evening when he drilled a three-run homer to straightaway center in the fifth, the ball landing among the sea green juniper plants. Lewis ended a 22-game homerless streak, raising his arms to his side like he was an airplane rounding second base.

Kaelen Culpepper greeted reliever Kyle Finnegan with a double on his third pitch, and the Twins didn’t let up. Culpepper scored on a single from Keaschall. Walker Jenkins, who drew a walk, scored on a sacrifice fly. Jeffers followed with a three-run homer that banged off the meshing of the left-field foul pole, his third homer in his last two games.

Beau Briske replaced Finnegan on the mound and, well, it didn’t matter who was pitching. The Twins were swinging like it was a slow-pitch softball game. After a walk and two singles loaded the bases, Culpepper lined a two-run single through the left side of the infield for a 14-1 lead.

When Jenkins grounded out to end the marathon sixth inning, many fans in the announced crowd of 17,267 responded with a standing ovation.

Connor Prielipp, entering in the second inning behind opener Andrew Morris, pitched five scoreless innings for the first clean outing of his big-league career.

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