CINCINNATI — Carlos Correa is optimistic about his injury, Royce Lewis is still waiting to learn about his and the Twins keep on rolling in spite of all the uncertainty.
With the American League Central all but wrapped up, the loose and relaxed Twins shrugged off injury concerns over two of their best players and a slow start to rally for an improbable 5-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark. After striking out 14 times in seven innings against Cincinnati starting pitcher Hunter Greene, Willi Castro and the Twins bounced back against the Reds bullpen to win for the fifth time in seven games.
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Combined with yet another Cleveland loss at Kansas City, the Twins reduced their magic number to one. Off until Friday night, the Twins could clinch a title before they throw another pitch if the Guardians lose against Baltimore on Thursday night and if Detroit loses either on Wednesday or Thursday.
A key reason the Twins are positioned to win their third division title in five seasons continues to be Castro, who had a monster series in Cincinnati.
One day after he belted a two-run homer, robbed another and made a sliding catch, accounting for four runs saved, Castro played the hero. Not only did he break up Greene’s shutout bid with a seventh-inning solo homer, Castro’s bunt base hit and stolen base keyed the Twins’ three-run, game-winning rally.
“Bad Bunny, he’s doing it all, man,” said Twins second baseman Jorge Polanco, who singled in the go-ahead runs with a two-out, bases-loaded hit in the ninth inning. “He’s robbing homers, hitting homers, diving catches. He’s just a great ballplayer.”
Willi Castro breaks the ice 💥#MLB || #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/C7RVUfRrzN
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) September 20, 2023
How much the Twins accomplish in the playoffs could be determined by the availability of two other top-notch players: Correa and Lewis, each of whom exited games early during this series. After his quick exit Monday, the Twins placed Correa (plantar fasciitis) on the injured list for the first time all season retroactive to Tuesday. Meanwhile, Lewis awaits the results of an MRI scheduled for Thursday on a tight hamstring.
Missing either player would be a big obstacle for the Twins to overcome as they attempt to snap an 18-game playoff losing streak, the longest in major North American sports history.
On the injury front, the Twins feel as if they’re in good shape with one player and unclear on the other.
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A day after his MRI, and two days after he felt a pop in his left heel while tracking down a fly ball in shallow left field, Correa made it clear his intention is to be ready in time for the playoffs. Twins athletic trainer Nick Paparesta said the MRI revealed the “pop” Correa felt was a tear of the central cortex of his plantar fasciitis, which is considered a good development for the healing process.
“I’m very confident,” Correa said. “Very confident. It will take a lot for me not to play in those games. They’re way too meaningful and they’re way too important, not only for the organization, but also for myself. Yeah, I’m confident I’ll be there.”
While Correa is also dealing with another new spot of soreness on his left heel, the shortstop should have ample time to rest now that he’s been placed on the IL. Paparesta opined — and Correa confirmed — that if the team opted to treat the shortstop and not make him inactive for 10 days, Correa simply would push to play once his sore heel started to improve in a few days.
Though Correa conceded his left heel continued to feel sore on Wednesday, he and the team expect it to improve. Given how much the injury has hampered his offense this season — Correa’s 94 OPS+ is the worst of his career and he’s grounded into an MLB-leading 30 double plays — resting now is the best decision.
Currently, Correa and the Twins are eyeing a return when the team plays at the Colorado Rockies starting next Friday.
“We felt it was right at this time,” Paparesta said. “If Carlos feels good in a few days, he’s going to want to go play and I think that’s probably not going to be in our best advantage at this stage. We had an opportunity to do this and still let him get back in time to get a couple games in in Colorado if that opportunity presents itself and it gives us a chance to just kind of reset him a little.”
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Acting manager Jayce Tingler suggested Correa isn’t the only one due for a reset. The immediate concern with Lewis is the tightness in his left hamstring, for which he’ll receive imaging on Thursday. Lewis exited Tuesday’s game during an eighth-inning at-bat when the issue arose.
Royce Lewis has exited the game after the training staff came out.#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/SW1cnRCzDF
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) September 20, 2023
Lewis said he didn’t hurt himself trying to run out a double play during a sixth-inning at-bat, rather that he was trying to be safe and not injure himself with so few days left in the season. But beyond the hamstring injury, Lewis also is dealing with a sore heel after hitting the base hard several weeks ago in a game against Cleveland.
“The players and the staff that are around Carlos and Royce, they understand what they’ve been playing through,” Tingler said. “We probably actually view this as a good thing. It’s a chance to get a little downtime to try to get as healthy as we can.”
Following Wednesday’s game, Lewis suggested he’s not out of the woods yet. Lewis, potentially the AL’s rookie of the month for September, is in a holding pattern until the MRI on Thursday. But he can rule out any worst-case scenarios like a severe knee injury.
Lewis, seen riding a stationary bike before the contest, described what he experienced as shooting pain.
“It’s tight,” Lewis said. “It’s the same as (Tuesday), so just continue to work hard and come back as fast as I can. … In terms of concern, I think it was just more frustration. I’m tired of stupid injuries, right? But this is the least of my worries of the past injuries. I joked with Nick for a second. I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s not the ACL so I know it’s not a full year.’ And he joked. He said, ‘Yeah, you’re going to be all right.’ It’s like just trying to calm me down, especially because I was frustrated.”
Despite having two of their more prominent players in limbo and being dominated by Greene, who struck out a career-high 14, the Twins remained calm and collected on the field Wednesday.
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Steady pitching from Bailey Ober, Josh Winder and Jhoan Duran kept the Twins close despite Greene’s dominance. The Reds ran up Ober’s pitch count with a series of good takes and by fouling off pitches. Even so, Ober limited Cincinnati to two runs in five innings.
Then Castro bounced back from a pair of early strikeouts with a seventh-inning solo homer to make it a 2-1 game. After the Reds tacked on a run in their half of the seventh, the Twins kept up the pressure after Greene’s departure. Christian Vázquez doubled off Ian Gibault to start the eighth inning and scored on an RBI single by Edouard Julien, who struck out in each of his first three plate appearances.
Facing Cincinnati closer Alexis Díaz, Castro opened the ninth inning with a drag bunt for a single. He took off for second base on the next pitch and wound up at third after catcher Luke Maile’s throw bounced into center field. Kyle Farmer singled in Castro to tie the score at 3-3. One out later, Vázquez walked and he and Farmer executed a double steal.
Then: 3-2 bad guys
Now: 5-3 good guys#MLB // #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/jiMPNdLNLV
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) September 20, 2023
The Reds brought in left-hander Sam Moll, who struck out Trevor Larnach but intentionally walked Ryan Jeffers to load the bases for Polanco. Polanco’s hard bouncer through the right side on the first pitch helped the Twins reach nine games over .500 for the first time all season.
“We never hesitate,” said Castro. “We went out there to compete. The team that we have, we can do it all. … It feels good. We were talking the first day we got here about winning the division. I know we’re really (far) ahead of Cleveland, and we’ve been playing well. I just think we keep that same mentality every day, playing ball the way that we’ve been playing. We’re going to go to the playoffs and we’re going to do some good things.”
(Photo of Willi Castro: Aaron Doster / Getty Images)
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