Astros: Slumping Correa finds way to make a difference

Carlos Correa is mired in a huge slump.  He entered Monday’s eventual 4-3 Houston Astros win in an 0-for-23 funk believing that he was close to breaking out of it. That didn’t happen at the plate as Correa finished 0-for-3 with a walk and left five men on base.

For the season, Correa is now slashing at .276/.374/.489 with 16 home runs and 52 RBI in 86 games, but readily admits that the week away from the field with an illness has made it tough to regain his form.

Correa didn’t let his slump affect his stellar defensive play, though and made two plays that potentially changed the outcome of the game.

With the Astros up 4-1 in the sixth, Franmil Reyes smashed a single to left that was bobbled by Michael Brantley, and as Cesar Hernandez scored and Jose Ramirez slid into third base, Brantley threw to Correa who was near the dirt behind third base.

More from Climbing Tal's Hill

• Just how much better is the Houston Astros playoff rotation than the rest?
• Houston Astros: A Lineup Change to Spark Offense
• Astros prospect Hunter Brown throws 6 shutout innings in debut
• Always faithful Astros World Series champion Josh Reddick defends the title
• Michael Conforto declines Astros’ 2-year, $30 million offer

Instinctively, Correa wheeled and fired a laser to Jose Altuve in time to nail Reyes attempting to take second base. Instead of a 4-2 game with men on second and third with one out, there were now two outs and a man on third, a situation which Cristian Javier was able to work out of.

Who knows what happens there without Correa’s play. Then, with the score 4-3 in the ninth with one on and one out, Correa handled a sharply hit grounder and was able to change direction and tag second before pinch runner Oscar Mercado, preventing the tying run from reaching scoring position.

Subsequently Ryan Pressly was able to whiff Amed Rosario to end the game. While his offensive numbers have taken a nosedive over the last 50 plate appearances, Correa’s defense has never wavered, and he’s in the top 10% in the outs above average metric.  There are other ways to contribute besides your bat and last night Correa’s defensive contributions may have meant the difference between a win and a loss.