When Royce Lewis first injured his hamstring running to first base in a spring training game in mid-March, the Twins’ third baseman didn’t think he’d be back at this point.

Not that his absence felt quick — anything but for Lewis, who has become all-too-familiar with rehab process in the early years of his major league career.

Lewis returned on Tuesday after missing the team’s first 35 games of the season. The hamstring strain was the latest in a long line of injuries for him and a frustrating outcome after all the work he had put in on his body in the offseason to avoid a similar fate.

“You need to be smart in general. Whenever I play the game, I’ve just got to play a little bit smarter,” Lewis said. “That’s what some of these other guys I’ve seen play the game at a high level do to be able to play 162. If I had (Royals star) Bobby Witt speed, I think I’d run a lot, but I’m not there anymore with all the injuries. So it’s just play smart whenever I get in the box.”

Lewis played some third base while on his rehab assignment with the Triple-A Saints but has been at designated hitter in each of his first two games back — he went 0 for 4 in his season debut on Tuesday — as the Twins ease him back in.

“I’m tired of being the guy that’s on the IL,” Lewis said. “I think it sucks. Seems like these injury bugs, they just stick on one guy for a while. Hopefully I got mine off.”

New addition

The Twins had a noticeable new addition in their clubhouse when they returned home from their seven-game road trip through Cleveland and Boston.

No, not a new player.

Just a new ping pong table that relievers Jhoan Duran and Jorge Alcala were happily taking advantage of on Wednesday a few hours before the game. On their last road trip, the Twins visited the Guardians, who have a brand new visitors clubhouse. In it, a ping pong table, which was a hit among Twins players.

This table came courtesy of starting pitcher Chris Paddack, who worked with the team’s clubhouse attendants to get the table into the Twins’ home clubhouse.

“Just something different in the clubhouse. I think this game drains us a lot. We’re human beings. We can have fun in life, too,” Paddack said. “Just trying to change the culture a little bit, bringing good vibes.”

As for the best ping pong player in the clubhouse, that’s yet to be determined. Paddack called himself “not outstanding” but “above average,” and said Edouard Julien, who was recently optioned to Triple-A, and shortstop Carlos Correa had a pretty good rally in Cleveland.

“Carlos, I feel like he’s just good at everything, so we were like, ‘No way he’s going to be good at ping pong,’ ” Paddack said. “Sure enough, he’s a freaking beast.”

Briefly

Bailey Ober will start Thursday’s series finale against the Baltimore Orioles, which will start at 12:10 p.m. He is replacing Joe Ryan, who was scheduled to start but is dealing with illness. Ober will be opposed by Dean Kremer.