BY J.A. SCHWARTZ
Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis combined for three home runs on five hits with four RBIs, more than enough to support Twins starter Bailey Ober (6-4, 4.81) who went six plus innings, allowing only a single run in Minnesota’s 6-2 victory over the Oakland A’s Sunday afternoon in the first game of a split doubleheader at Target Field.
Fireballing closer Jhoan Duran was needed to record the final out as the A’s threatened with a ninth inning rally, but he earned the save in a tense, nine pitch battle with Abraham Toro, getting him to ground out on a very close play at first to seal the Twins fourth straight win. Oakland has now lost eight straight.
The Twins wasted no time slashing Oakland starter J.P. Sears, with the first four Minnesota batters reaching base, putting Sears down 3-0 before he was able to record his first out of the game. Arguably the most reliably A’s starter, Sears’ four wins leads the staff, and he’s the only A’s starter who has yet to miss a turn this season, but his command was off in the early going, allowing an uncharacteristic four walks in the first three innings. The Twins had runners on against Sears in every inning but the fifth, and looked comfortable at the plate, striking out only a single time against him.
His counterpart on the hill was far more effective, taking a shutout into the seventh before a Daz Cameron solo shot got the A’s on the board. Ober struck out eight over his 6.1 innings, and the lone run he allowed was the first time Oakland has scored against him in 11 career innings.
After the game, Ober noted “I’ve been feeling really good the past few weeks, and it came down to being able to execute, and to put stuff where I wanted. I was able to get the changeup down, underneath the zone and mix speed types-get the fastballs up and kind of play off each other.”
The best players the Twins feature, Correa and Lewis, both came into the first game of Sunday’s DH on hot streaks. Correa was hitting .514 Since June 6, and was 19 for 37 with a 1250 OPS since that date. He’s been especially torrid over his last six games, each of which saw him get at least one hit, batting a cool .577, and helping his club take five of their last six. He wasted no time extending his hit streak to seven games with a first inning dinger (100 MPH exit velocity, 393 feet, off a four seam fastball), staking his club to a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish. He added an infield single in the second, and hit a titanic shot to left center (109 MPH exit velocity, 408 feet, off a sweeper) to pad the Twins advantage in the fourth. It was his twelfth career two-HR game, and first since 2022.
To suggest that Correa’s locked in at the plate would be understating the current reality. “I’m in a good spot right now, so you just want to make it last as long as possible,” Correa stated after the game. When asked if he was looking for a certain pitch (given that he hit two different pitch types for his HRs), Correa replied, “No, I’m just reacting, just seeing the pitches and reacting. When I feel good and I’m seeing the ball well, I just react to the pitches. I have my approach and I stick with it.” It’s safe to say that Correa’s approach is leading his team right now, and he shows no signs of slowing down.
Lewis has played in a total of 10 games this season, hitting .382/405/.882 with five HRs coming into the doubleheader. Like Correa, he was also on a six game hitting streak entering the day’s action, and like his buddy, he made sure the streak would continue, crushing a first pitch slider from Sears (102 MPH exit velocity, 380 feet) to right center. The crowd had barely re-taken their seats after Correa’s round-tripper when Lewis electrified the crowd with his bomb.
Lewis was the #1 overall pick in the 2017 MLB draft class, but has endured a career marred by injury, (tearing his right ACL twice, costing him all of the 2021 and most of 2022) limiting him to a total of 80 games over the past three seasons. Correa was the #1 overall pick in the 2012 MLB draft by Houston, allowing Minnesota to select his teammate Byron Buxton with the next choice. Now all three players are in the same lineup, creating problems for opposing pitchers. In just 81 career games, Lewis is hitting .319/.375/.597 with 23 HRs. His rate of hitting a home run once every 12.82 at bats ranks him sixth in that category in major league history among players with at least 250 at bats. He’s an immensely talented player, and he’s just getting started.
After Correa’s first inning clout, he told Lewis “stick with your approach, you can get this guy,” Lewis related after the game. “I love where the swing is at right now, it’s in a great spot, it’s consistent. Each and every day I’m able to battle and I’m waiting for the pitch that I want to hit, not what he (the pitcher) wants me to hit.”
Lewis actually thought he hit a sinker for his first inning blast. “I came in and I thought it was a sinker… I didn’t even know what the pitch was. I’m a little nervous that my eyes are starting to go a little wonky… I might have to get some moonlight glasses going tonight.”
Correa was typically humble in his characterization of the Lewis conversation. “If you know me, you know I care about making other players around me better. Royce… We’ve been working ever since I met him. He’s a generational talent… He takes advice very well, and he applies (it) better than anyone I’ve ever seen, and you saw it right there on that home run.”
The A’s made it interesting in the ninth, nicking reliever Cole Sands for a run when Kyle McCann lined a single to right to score J.D. Davis, who reached base three times in the game (J.J. Bleday was the only other Oakland hitter with two hits). With two on and two out and a 6-2 lead, Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli signaled for his closer given that Sands had thrown 27 pitches and appeared to be laboring. Sands had attempted to make a diving throw to first after Davis hit a comebacker that ricocheted off his leg, and required two different visits to the mound by Twins coaches to insure he was physically sound. Duran fell behind Toro 3-0 before coming back to force a slow roller to second baseman Kyle Farmer, who just barely got the ball to first before Toro’s foot reached the bag, ending the game. Oakland skipper Mark Kotsay challenged the play, but the call stood, and the A’s trudged off the field having lost their eighth straight game.
GAME NOTES:
Following a loss in the nightcap, the A’s have now lost nine straight games, 12 of 14, 15 of 18, and are a season high 22 games under .500. Their losing streak is currently the longest in MLB.
Oakland came into the DH hitting a major league worst .219.
Sears is now 0-6 against AL Central teams.
A’s starting pitchers have tallied just three wins over the past 32 games.
Minnesota is now 15-2 in their last 17 games against the A’s.
The Twins were wearing their new blue City Connect jerseys for just the second time.
Ober has never lost to an AL West foe, going 6-0, 3.97 in 12 starts in his career.
