The Minnesota Twins’ offense has been hard to watch this season. There’s been so many disappointing nights and a bunch of missed opportunities with runners in scoring position. Royce Lewis returned to the lineup and provided the offense with a much-needed boost.

Heading into game one against the Houston Astros, the Twins ranked last in a lot of offensive categories:

• Batting Average: .230 – 24th
•  On-Base Percentage: .313 – 22nd
•  Slugging: .406 – 16th
•  Runs Batted In: 227 – 19th
•  Strikeouts: 533 – 1st

For as talented as this team is, you’d expect those numbers to be a lot better. Odds are they’ll turn things around, but we’ve been saying this for a while now, and they’ve played a little over 50 games.

All it takes is for one guy to get the team going, and Lewis can provide that for the Twins. We saw it last year in Carlos Correa’s absence and in his first game against the Astros.

In his first game back, Lewis went 2-5, with four RBIs, and put this team on the board with this three-run home run.

He also tied the game with a clutch two-out single in the ninth. In his first at-bat, he just missed a home run, drilling the first pitch to the warning track. His energy around the clubhouse was rubbing off on the rest of the team, and they looked sharper and had an extra pep in their step.

Look back at the Michael A. Taylor single and how aggressive Willi Castro was rounding third base.

Last season when Correa went down, Lewis was the jolt the team needed. He played so well that you almost forgot that the future Hall of Fame shortstop wasn’t in the lineup.

Last year, Lewis hit .300 and hit two home runs – one being a grand slam. His defense was great at shortstop, but this year he will factor in at third base – a position the Twins have struggled to get any sort of consistency out of.

Jose Miranda has not been good this year, and he was supposed to be their everyday third-baseman. Kyle Farmer has been solid, but you’d like to rotate him around the field as a super utility player.

Now, the Twins have their guy at third, and that shores up one less hole. Having Correa and Lewis on the left side of the diamond is a luxury to have as well.

It’s one game, but we’re seeing what Lewis can provide for the Twins. Now, Minnesota has another option to throw at teams in the heart of the order, and that makes this team dangerous heading into June.