Royce Lewis powers Saints to 100th homer, grand slam rout of Indians

Royce Lewis did not just add to the Saints’ power total. He helped define it.

St. Paul ripped Indianapolis 10-1 at CHS Field on June 3, becoming the first team in baseball to reach 100 home runs, then kept going to finish with 101. The early strike was the clearest sign yet that this is not a one-night burst. It is an offensive identity, and Lewis was right at the center of it.

The Saints jumped on the Indians immediately. Kaelen Culpepper opened the game with a single, Hendry Mendez followed with a two-run homer, Lewis singled, and Matt Wallner added another two-run blast as St. Paul built a 4-0 lead in the first inning. The pressure never really stopped there. All nine hitters reached safely with at least one hit, the lineup stacked up 14 hits, and three more home runs followed the opening salvo.

Lewis supplied the biggest blow. The grand slam was his 10th homer of the season and his eighth since being optioned, and it gave him nine career grand slams. Even more striking, he got to 10 home runs in just 13 games, making him the fastest Saints player ever to hit that mark in a season. The previous standard belonged to Spencer Steer, who needed 25 games in 2021.

For a player sent to Triple-A in mid-May after a deep slump with the Twins, the offensive eruption carried obvious weight. It also came with a different look in the field. Lewis started at second base for only the second time in his minor league career and the third time in his pro career, then looked smooth enough to make the experiment look routine. He handled five ground balls cleanly, recorded five assists, started a first-inning double play and tagged out a would-be base-stealer.

That versatility matters. Minnesota has made it clear it wants players who can move around the diamond, and Lewis could have a path back at first base and second base. Nights like this make that conversation harder. A player who can hit like this, while giving the Saints clean innings at a new position, creates real pressure on a big-league roster looking for answers.

Wallner kept his own surge rolling with a 2-for-4 night, a homer, two RBIs and a run scored. It was his second home run of the season and his fourth straight two-hit game. Mendez extended his on-base streak to 23 games to begin his Triple-A career, another sign that St. Paul is getting production from multiple spots, not just one middle-of-the-order bat.

Ryan Gallagher backed the offense with five shutout innings, allowing two hits, four walks and four strikeouts while stretching his scoreless streak to 10.1 innings. He worked through a fourth-inning threat and never let Indianapolis back into a game that was already out of reach.

The announced crowd of 5,003 got a complete showing: power, depth, defense and a pitching line that matched the score. After Indianapolis had won 7-6 the previous night on Davis Wendzel’s grand slam, the series had already turned into a home run showcase. St. Paul simply delivered the louder statement.