Royce Lewis on Monday hit a grand slam and recorded a career-high six RBIs, while Jorge Polanco and Carlos Correa added solo homers off Lucas Giolito in his Cleveland Guardians debut as the American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins crushed the Guardians 20-6.
Lewis became the first rookie in MLB history with three grand slams in an eight-game span. The 24-year-old third baseman is also the second player ever with five homers and three slams in the same timeframe, joining baseball legend Lou Gehrig in 1931.
“This team is amazing and the situation just seems to find me because guys keep getting on base in front of me,” said Lewis, who has four grand slams in 56 career games in the majors. “Scoring 20 runs is definitely fun, especially when you can beat your divisional rival in a pivotal series.”
Photo: AFP
The Twins moved six games ahead of the second-placed Guardians with 24 to play, including two more in this series at Progressive Field. They finished with 20 hits, had 12 players score and established season highs in runs, hits and margin of victory.
Kyle Farmer hit a three-run homer, and Joey Gallo and Matt Wallner each had two-run shots off catcher David Fry, who pitched the final four innings and allowed seven runs and 10 hits. Minnesota led 18-1 in the middle of the seventh.
“That’s one of the best offensive games I’ve ever seen in pro baseball,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We had a lot of memorable games for a lot of people. Some of them started the game and some came in later. Obviously, I enjoyed the win.”
Giolito (7-12), claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday last week, gave up a career high-tying nine runs in three innings.
“It’s just kind of like a nightmare situation,” Giolito said. “Just really poor execution and when I was making mistakes, they weren’t missing at all. So I wasn’t getting away with anything.”
In Phoenix, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Merrill Kelly matched a career high with 12 strikeouts in seven sterling innings before leaving with a hamstring cramp, as they beat the Colorado Rockies 4-2.
Taiwanese-American leadoff hitter Corbin Carroll hit a run-scoring triple in the third inning and Gabriel Moreno added one in the fourth. Peterson made it 4-0 later in the inning with a two-run double.
Elsewhere on Monday, the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3, the Cincinnati Reds downed the Seattle Mariners 6-3, the Pittsburgh Pirates outplayed the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2, the Houston Astros dominated the Texas Rangers 13-6 and the Philadelphia Phillies survived the San Diego Padres 9-7.
The Toronto Blue Jays pipped the Oakland Athletics 6-5 in 10 innings, the Chicago Cubs blanked the San Francisco Giants 5-0 and the Kansas City Royals devastated the Chicago White Sox 12-1.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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