Carlos Correa focused on championships, isn't dwelling on offseason Mets ordeal

When Carlos Correa peeked at the Twins' schedule last week and saw the Mets series, his mind briefly flashed back to his hectic offseason.

If Correa's 12-year, $315 million deal didn't fall through with the Mets after medical concerns with his lower right leg, this weekend likely would have marked his return to Target Field. Instead, he crushed a game-tying homer against the Mets on Friday and drew a walk during the Twins' big seventh-inning rally Saturday.

It's not in Correa's personality, he says, to dwell on the past. There are no what-ifs about the Mets. There isn't time to even worry about his offensive numbers this season.

"The way I look at it is: keep working on my swing and try to get to where I want to be and help down the stretch," Correa said. "Hopefully, once we get into the playoffs, be hot at the right time. At the end of the day, the Twins signed me to win championships, not to win personal accolades."

Correa is encouraged by a tweak he made in Texas last weekend, setting his hands a little further from his head in his stance. His homer Friday carried a 114.2-mph exit velocity, his hardest-hit ball of the season and his hardest-hit homer of his career. Fifteen of the last 26 balls he's put into play were hit with an exit velocity above 100 mph, and he has 11 hits in 31 at-bats this month with only four strikeouts.

There are some obvious factors to his subpar offensive season. He's been playing through plantar fasciitis in his left foot since May. He had to change his offseason routine until he signed a contract.

"I don't want make any excuses," Correa said. "There are so many things that go through the season that you have to battle through. All players go through that. You have to figure out a way to go out there and perform for your team. Yeah, my offseason was very different than what I've done over the past 12 years, but I need to learn how to deal with things like that."

In Correa's mind, a strong postseason can make up for any frustration he's felt with his swing during the regular season.

"Anyone can be a leader when they're performing, when they're doing good," hitting coach David Popkins said. "If you can be a leader when you're hurting or not performing, and you can show how to act, it shows if you keep going to work and trust the process it can turn around. People always remember how you were when you were struggling."

Baldelli not thinking No. 2 seed

The Twins sat five games behind the Astros for the No. 2 seed in the American League, which comes with a first-round bye in the postseason, after their 8-4 victory over the Mets on Saturday.

It's a lot of ground to make up with 20 games remaining in the regular season, but the Twins have one of the easiest strength of schedules in the major leagues over the final three weeks.

"We haven't done anything yet," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "We've accomplished nothing bigger picture. We are not a playoff team yet. We haven't clinched anything. We're not even close to clinching. We have more than 20 games to play and I've seen crazy [stuff] happen in 20 games."

Etc.

• Kenta Maeda looked upset when he was pulled after issuing a one-out walk in the sixth inning Saturday, walking behind the mound when Baldelli emerged from the dugout. "It was a combination of the outcome and obviously I wanted to stay in to pitch through the sixth inning, but it was a walk and that's what I didn't want in that situation," Maeda said.

• Bailey Ober gave up one run over five innings in his first start since being demoted to the Class AAA Saints on Aug. 28, but Michael Boyle gave up a three-run homer to Matt Reynolds in the seventh inning and host Louisville won 4-3. Ober threw 65 pitches, giving up three hits and no walks while striking out three.