Twins Reflect on Disappointing Postseason Loss to Astros and Look Ahead to Next Year

Minneapolis. Puerto Rican Carlos Correa was direct, disappointed and optimistic when he spoke with his Minnesota Twins teammates after being eliminated in the postseason.

He asked them to save the bitter feeling as fuel to improve when next year’s preseason begins. She also requested that they remember who caused them this pain.

The Houston Astros – Minnesota’s new postseason nemesis – are going to the American League Championship Series for the seventh consecutive year, and are the standard the Twins must surpass in order to make more than a brief appearance in October. .

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That will not happen just by showing yourself in excellent physical condition. Hitters will have to make some adjustments to their approach to the plate to really make this lineup balanced, consistent, and dangerous in the postseason.

The Astros not only produced more hits at the right time – with 10 homers accounting for 16 of the 20 runs in the American League Division Series – but they pitched skillfully to exploit the gaps and keep the Twins guessing and largely missing. of the four games.

The Twins hit five home runs, but struck out in 52 at-bats, an even higher rate than when they set the Major League Baseball (MLB) record for most strikeouts in a season.

“Experience played an important role. Some of the more experienced guys there had good at-bats with runners on base,” Correa said. “We didn’t have the opportunity to do the same, and they won the series. They’ve been doing it for years. Now that some of our kids have dipped their toes in postseason baseball, I feel like next year will be much better, and I know the board will put the right pieces together for us to go further.”

Correa played through plantar fasciitis that caused significant pain around his heel and had the worst offensive season of his career.

Byron Buxton showed difficulty staying free of injury problems, with knee pain that prevented him from playing in the outfield. His last game was on August 1, until he pinch-hit in the fourth game.

The Twins had the second-best starting ERA at 3.82 on the season, a strength they have tried to build for years by having to sacrifice several of their best prospects in different trades. Venezuelan Pablo López pitched in the postseason as the ace the Twins had paid for, and Sonny Gray had a renaissance season alongside him at the top of the rotation.

Gray, in the locker room with tears in his eyes as he said goodbye to his teammates Wednesday night, talked often about how much he appreciated this season.

Gray is the most important player among those who will become free agents. The others are starters Kenta Maeda, Dallas Keuchel, and Tyler Mahle; reliever Emilio Pagán, outfielders Michael A. Taylor and Joey Gallo; and the Colombian Donovan Solano.

2023-10-14 17:26:58
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