Carlos Correa drew the ire of Twins fans after lackadaisically running to first base in the closing moments of Minnesota’s 8-6 loss to the Miami Marlins – just days after he called out his teammates for not showing a sense of urgency.
On Thursday, the Twins suffered a gut-wrenching defeat that all but squandered their playoff hopes, falling to the Marlins in 13 innings. Correa finished the game with a strong stat line – going 3-for-5 with a home run and two walks – though his final out left much left to be desired.
With two outs in the bottom of the 13th, Correa dribbled a weak ground ball to the pitcher and slowly trotted to first base. Marlins reliever Darren McCaughan made an erratic throw to first, however, that seemingly would’ve allowed the shortstop to reach safely had he hustled out of the batter’s box.
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The halfhearted attempt looks even worse for Correa considering that he previously criticized unnamed players in the Twins clubhouse for not playing with enough vigor down the stretch. When asked if there was a sense of urgency around him, the 30-year-old told MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park: “Some guys, yeah.
“Some of us hit extra today and tried to figure something out. We didn’t get the win, but we’ve got to do more of that and eventually find something right away so we can go out there and put up more runs.”
When asked to clarify his subtle remarks, Correa added, “We’re all trying our best, and everybody wants to be in the playoffs.” Addressing the way in which his teammates differently handle frustration, he said: “Some guys take [frustration] as poison and some guys take it as fuel.
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Carlos Correa and the Minnesota Twins suffered a gut-wrenching loss to the Miami Marlins on Thursday (
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“The guys who take it as fuel are the ones that always come out on top and have a beautiful career and stay in the game for a long time. We have a lot of young guys and a lot of people try to help them, but at the end of the day, everybody has to figure it out on their own.”
On the heels of Correa’s lackluster jog to first base, fans promptly took to social media to criticize his hypocritical comment. “I mean.. a little effort would have kept the game going,” one X user wrote, with another adding: “Good thing he’s not calling teammates out in the press.”
A third added: “That’s crazy bad leadership and competitiveness. Wow.”
Despite entering August 18 with a 70-53 record, the Twins have been mired in a brutal stretch since, posting a meager 12-24 record. Following Thursday’s loss, Minnesota can only make the playoffs if they manage to sweep the Baltimore Orioles.
They will require additional help, needing both the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals to be swept in order to reach the postseason.
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