Lost in the shuffle of a crazy game: Twins rookie Brooks Lee is hitting .545
There was a lot going on in the Twins’ 13-12 loss to Houston on Friday night, not the least of which was Jose Miranda setting the club record for hits in consecutive at-bats with his 10th.
Of course there was the Twins’ seven-run ninth-inning rally that nearly sent the game to extra innings, capped by Carlos Correa’s two-out grand slam off Houston closer Josh Hader.
But there also was a weird — and impressive — catch on the right field wall by Joey Loperfido that caused a lot of confusion on the basepaths and the dugouts, a failed safety squeeze that left the tying run at third in the third inning and Houston’s Jose Altuve getting hit in the hand, one of four HBPs.
And then there was Twins rookie Brooks Lee, who went 3 for 5 with a double, run scored and two RBIs in his third major league game. After playing third in those three games, he was in the lineup Saturday as the designated hitter.
Lee, the eighth overall pick in the 2022 draft, was called up for the first time Wednesday when the Twins’ placed Royce Lewis on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 2 groin strain. In his first three games, he was 6 for 11 (.545) with a walk, run scored, sacrifice fly and four RBIs.
“I didn’t know what to expect (at the major-league level),” Lee said before Saturday’s game. “I just try to be the same player that I am, treat it as the same game.”
Lee, 23, likely would have been called up earlier than July 3, but while Lewis and Correa were out with injuries, he was recovering from a herniated disc that knocked him out of spring training and kept in Fort Myers, Fla., to begin rehab. In 20 games with Class AAA St. Paul, he hit .329 with five doubles, seven home runs, 21 RBIs and 20 runs scored.
A switch hitter, Lee was 5 for 8 as a lefty and 1 for 4 from the right side.
“He looks very comfortable in this spot,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s got a very good way about him. He’s very comfortable in a clubhouse. He’s very comfortable around all types of players, guys who are his peers and his own age, and guys that have experience, that are older and have been around, that are stars in the game. Nothing is going to throw him off.”
It’s a small sample size, but a promising one for a player who has had success at all levels of the Twins’ organization.
“I’ve had some immediate success, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a time when I fail,” Lee said “I’m sure it will happen at some point. I just try to take it day by day, win every single at-bat and every pitch. That’s all I can do.”
Lewis is out at least through the all-star break. The infielder has done nothing but rake since being called to the majors in 2022, hitting .303 with 27 home runs and 75 RBIs in 94 career games. But he has never played more than 58 games in a season because of injuries.
He has twice had surgery to repair his right knee and missed dozens of games because of hamstring, oblique, quad and now groin injuries. When and Lewis returns, there won’t technically be an infield spot for Lee, but the rookie said he’s not looking into the future.
“I’m just trying to enjoy it and keep playing the way I do,” he said. “I’m sure things will fall into place. I pride myself on being a switch hitter, so I’m just making sure I’m ready from both sides of the plate, and I think things will take care of themselves.”
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