Twins’ Royce Lewis and Rocco Baldelli chat, Lewis gets hits. When a pattern is producing, why change it?

Since last Sunday in Colorado, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has stopped for a pregame chat with Royce Lewis whether it’s in his office or on the field during batting practice.

Lewis hit two homers Sunday, had three hits Monday, drove in three runs without a hit Tuesday and delivered two more hits with a homer Wednesday.

“I’m seeing a lot of well-struck baseballs, and I’ve met with him every day,” Baldelli said Friday, before Lewis went 1-for-4 with a double in the Twins’ 1-0 victory over Washington. “So, I’ll see him later on.”

The talks cover a variety of topics, ranging from baseball-related and anything else that comes to mind, but apparently it works.

As much as the results showed up over the past week — 10 of his 14 batted balls generated an exit velocity above 102 mph in those four games — Lewis doesn’t attribute it to any big changes to his offensive approach.

“I feel like I’ve been driving the ball,” Lewis said. “It’s just finally finding holes per se. … I feel like I was the same, it’s just now they’re not catching it. I’m not getting robbed. I’m not hitting it right at the warning track in right-center field. Just picking better spots. Pulling the ball in the air helps.”

Lewis, who mostly was batting seventh or eighth in the lineup, was moved up to fifth Friday against Nationals lefty MacKenzie Gore. Baldelli said it had more to do with facing a lefty than wanting to thrust him higher in the batting order.

“Things can change, but I don’t anticipate we show up on Sunday and [Lewis] is hitting fourth for us. I think it’s probably good to just leave him in the same general area he’s been hitting and just let him go.”

Nationals righthander Jake Irvin has made 78 career starts, but No. 79 might be the most meaningful in his career.

Irvin, who grew up a Twins fan in Bloomington, will pitch inside Target Field for the first time Sunday. He once played shortstop during a high school game at the Metrodome, but he’s never played at Target Field.

“It means everything,” said Irvin, who starred at Bloomington Jefferson. “It’s important to put it all in perspective. This what got me here: Growing up a Twins fan, falling in love with the Twins and just how much they meant to me in developing my passion for baseball. The people around me that I grew up playing with, I get to see a lot of my buddies from high school. I get to be around my parents and my family, just everybody who supported me along the way, man. It’s all come full circle and super, super special.”

Irvin, 28, owns a 4.81 ERA in 21 starts this year. He faced the Twins in Washington, D.C., last season, yielding two runs in 6⅓ innings.

“It’s going to be a lot,” said Irvin, smiling. “Definitely have more people reaching out now that it’s finally becoming a reality.”

The Twins placed lefty reliever Anthony Misiewicz on the 15-day injured list Friday with a left shoulder impingement and recalled lefthander Kody Funderburk from Class AAA St. Paul.

Misiewicz exited Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with his injury. Funderburk owns a 1.78 ERA in 25 minor league innings this year, and he entered Friday with a 6.92 ERA in 13 innings in the big leagues.

Bailey Ober made his second Class AAA rehab start Friday, pitching five innings for the Saints against Worcester at CHS Field. He gave up two hits and one run — a solo homer — while striking out six.

Ober’s fastball averaged 90.5 mph, matching his season average, while his changeup drew most of his whiffs.

• The Twins haven’t announced a starter for Sunday because they’re planning a bullpen game. Travis Adams, who hasn’t pitched since July 18, appears likely to pitch multiple innings.