Carlos Correa has clearly lost Astros postseason edge based on game-losing effort with Twins

The Houston Astros are headed back to the MLB Postseason after winning the American League West for the fourth year in a row. Houston overcame a terrible start to the 2024 regular season, and Joe Espada's club was able to pop the champagne this past week after securing their ninth trip to the playoffs in the last 10 years.

But it seems unlikely that Houston's old friend Carlos Correa will be part of the postseason festivities this October. While the Astros used a second-half surge to secure a playoff berth, the Minnesota Twins are finding epically bad ways to lose what seemed like a sure thing.

The Twins were 4.5 games up in the AL Wild Card race at the start of September, but a sub .500 win-loss record this month and a red-hot Detroit Tigers team have Minnesota on the verge of missing the playoffs. Correa exemplified the Twins' struggles on Thursday night during the final at-bat of Minnesota's loss to the Miami Marlins.

Former Astros SS Carlos Correa all but gave up in Twins loss to Marlins

The Twins were down to their final out, and Correa stepped into the batter's box with Minnesota trailing Miami 8-6 in the bottom of the 13th inning. The Twins had already bungled an opportunity in the 12th inning to move two runners into scoring position with the game tied 5-5. Horrific execution on a sacrifice bunt saw the Marlins turn a double play, effectively ending the threat.

Correa was Minnesota's last hope, and after going down 0-2, the former Astros infielder tapped a weak ground ball back to the pitcher. Correa, believing an out was all but assured, lollygagged his way down the first base line. Instead, an errant throw from the pitcher pulled the Marlins' first baseman off the bag. However, Miami was able to recover and record the final out before Correa touched the base. Had Correa hustled down the line, the tying run (Trevor Larnach) would have been up next.

Following that loss, the Twins were forced to lean on the remote possibility of winning out, while one of the Kansas City Royals or Detroit Tigers lost all three of their upcoming games. FanGraphs saw that as a near impossibility, giving Minnesota a 3.5% chance to make it to the postseason after Correa's loaf job.

During his time with the Astros, Correa was one of the vocal leaders when Houston was consistently heading to the playoffs during the month of October, but his free agency landing spot in the Land of 10,000 Lakes has the shortstop barely treading water with the Twins' season on brink. That postseason edge that Correa had with the Astros has all but evaporated, and so have Minnesota's chances to be part of the MLB Postseason.

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