HOUSTON -- Royce Lewis is relentlessly optimistic. Almost a little too much for his manager.

But in Lewis¡¯ return from a second ACL surgery -- exactly a year to the day he suffered the tear in his right knee -- that positivity paid off. Lewis, who sensed ¡°something special¡± was going to happen Monday, lined a three-run home run and added a two-out, game-tying RBI single before the Twins ultimately won, 7-5 in the 10th, thanks to Ryan Jeffers' two-run homer.

¡°It feels so surreal, right?¡± Lewis said before the game .¡±I think something special is going to happen tonight. I couldn¡¯t tell you what, but it just feels like it¡¯s kind of like that time.¡±

If anyone could have predicted this storybook return for Lewis, it would¡¯ve been the uber-optimistic 23-year-old.

¡°A year to this day? You just can¡¯t make this stuff up,¡± he said.

He eyed the series vs. Houston as far back as Spring Training for his debut. He compared the Twins¡¯ cautious approach toward his rehab to parents telling their kid they can¡¯t go to a party. And he may have slightly irked manager Rocco Baldelli along the process.

¡°I love Royce, but I can¡¯t listen to probably a quarter -- maybe a third -- of what comes out of his mouth,¡± Baldelli said. ¡°He¡¯s telling me stuff that doesn¡¯t even make any sense, that doesn¡¯t go along with any sort of timeline that any doctor or medical professional is talking about.?

"He is relentlessly optimistic and positive, which, we'll take that. I love the kid, but when he starts talking about, ¡®He¡¯ll be ready here or there,¡¯ I just kind of let him -- if he wants to think that, if that¡¯s going to help him, that sounds good.¡±

So when Lewis came up for his first at-bat, with runners on first and second and two outs, he didn¡¯t hesitate at all and swung at the first pitch, a hanging curveball -- ¡°I just missed it¡± -- for a flyout to left field.

In his second at-bat (also with runners on first and second with two outs), Lewis was a tad more patient. He watched three 95 mph fastballs zip by for a 1-2 count. Then, when Houston starter J.P. France offered a fourth straight heater -- this one down the middle -- Lewis used his opposite-field power to muscle it down the right-field line and eke out a 336-foot shot.

¡°My first thought was, ¡®Did it actually go over?¡¯¡± Lewis said about his third career HR.

Then, thanks to Alex Kirilloff¡¯s 2-for-2, 3 walk-game, Lewis came up again in the ninth, with -- you guessed it -- runners on first and second against Astros closer Ryan Pressly, who hadn¡¯t blown a save in his past 28 opportunities.

It didn¡¯t matter. Lewis, who said he was looking for a slider in a certain zone, poked a single to center to tie things up. And Jeffers followed in the 10th with what was the hardest Twins hit in the Statcast era at 117.4 mph.

¡°That was just an absolute screamer,¡± Baldelli said. ¡°You almost [have to] watch out for the people in the stands because it can get dangerous out there when he hits the ball like that.¡±

Starter Sonny Gray tossed six efficient innings before being pulled in the seventh. Jose Altuve then launched his own screamer off Brock Stewart for a go-ahead grand slam.

But Gray said the story of the game was the Twins¡¯ resilience and Lewis¡¯ return.

¡°I was actually on the mound when [Lewis¡¯ second ACL tear] happened last year,¡± Gray said. ¡°I¡¯m getting chills ¡­ to be back on the mound, too, while he comes back and for him to come out and just be Royce, it was a welcome sight. We got on the airplane yesterday, and he was there, smiling, just being Royce.¡±

¡°I think [Lewis is] still the future here in this organization,¡± shortstop Carlos Correa said. ¡°Obviously, the talent is unbelievable. The way he¡¯s developed into a great hitter now, it¡¯s really good to see. I think he¡¯s going to be a key piece to what we¡¯re building here. He¡¯s here to stay.¡±