MINNEAPOLIS -- It doesn¡¯t matter where the Twins put Royce Lewis in the lineup -- it¡¯s seemingly inevitable that the big spots find him, to the point that the Minnesota coaches joke about exactly that in the dugout.

It¡¯s no joking matter for the opposing team, though -- because boy, does Lewis have a knack for rising to the occasion. And only 50 games into Lewis¡¯ MLB career, the Guardians already know that all too well.

That big moment found Lewis in the second inning of Monday¡¯s series opener between Minnesota and Cleveland at Target Field. With the bases loaded and the Twins trailing by two, Lewis crushed a drive to the bullpens in left-center field for his second grand slam in as many days, and the rookie¡¯s huge swing capped a six-run rally that pushed Minnesota ahead in an eventual 10-6 victory.

¡°I think of eight RBIs and two wins, that¡¯s what I think of,¡± Lewis said. ¡°It¡¯s truly special, man. Our team, the way we¡¯re rolling and all the quality at-bats we¡¯re putting together at the same time in the same innings, these are the kind of explosive innings we can put together deep into the playoffs any given night.¡±

The win extended the Twins¡¯ lead in the American League Central?to seven games over the Guardians following the first matchup in a pivotal stretch of six head-to-head contests between the division rivals in a 10-day span. The season series is now tied, 4-4, and the Twins hold the?tiebreaker?with the better record within the division.

Lewis became the first player in Twins history to hit grand slams in consecutive games -- a feat that actually occurred elsewhere in the Majors earlier this month by Luis Ur¨ªas of the Red Sox.

A former No. 1 overall pick, Lewis has hit three grand slams among his first 10 career home runs, becoming the 10th player in AL/NL history to do so, and the first since Chris Taylor did so for the Dodgers in 2016-17.

¡°The kid's special,¡± Carlos Correa said. ¡°We've known that for a while now. Now, he's healthy and doing his thing. Couldn't be happier for him. He's a guy that deserves it. He's a guy that everybody loves here. He's easy to like. He's easy to love. Success comes to people that work hard and are good people. He's all of that.¡±

The fans made sure Lewis got his recognition, demanding a curtain call with a roar that grew to the point that Max Kepler had to take a timeout before the start of his next plate appearance so Lewis could emerge from the dugout -- celebratory fishing vest halfway off his shoulders -- to acknowledge the raucous crowd.

¡°It¡¯s so much fun,¡± Lewis said. ¡°This team is so special. Like I¡¯ve always said, just to crack the team and be a part of it, for me, I¡¯m going out there and proving myself each and every day, because this game is hard, so you¡¯re going to go through those times where it¡¯s tough, but you¡¯ve got to enjoy the fun while you have it.¡±

On Sunday, the Twins trailed early, 5-0, in their series finale against the Rangers before Lewis mashed a grand slam to the batter¡¯s eye in center field in the sixth inning, putting the Twins in position to stretch the game into extra innings and scrape out a 7-6 victory in 13 innings.

And the other grand slam before that? Cleveland is all too familiar with that one, too. That was actually Lewis¡¯ first career homer, back on May 13, 2022, when he capped a nine-run fifth inning with a slam to left field off reliever Bryan Shaw.

Although not all of Lewis¡¯ clutch hits are quite so explosive, he does really have a knack for the moment. Monday¡¯s grand slam improved his slash line to .383/.442/.723 for a 1.165 OPS in his career with runners in scoring position, the highest in Twins history among players to take at least 50 plate appearances in such situations.

It¡¯s not that manager Rocco Baldelli is poring over his lineup specifically with the intent of having Lewis come up in these spots -- but no matter, because they just keep coming.

¡°It¡¯s not normally the way I think about it, but maybe I should start thinking about it like that,¡± Baldelli said. ¡°He likes the big spots. It¡¯s a combination of being under control but still aggressive and all of these different things. It¡¯s not easy to do what he¡¯s doing.¡±