Helping hand
Oft-injured shortstop comes through with RBI double, walk-off homer to tie ALCS
» Carlos Correa, above, is producing while still knocking off rust from a late injury.
NEW YORK — Before a breakout, there was trepidation. Carlos Correa totaled just 11 major plate appearances in September, stopped constantly by setbacks in his sore back. Minor league rehab assignments were unrealistic so late in the season. A week of work before the American League Division Series presented Correa his only logical option to test his health, but the drills could not simulate major league at-bats against playoff-caliber pitching.
Manager A.J. Hinch hid his concern publicly. Correa’s constant back issues are impossible to adequately assess. Some days, he recovers without issue. Other instances require weeks’ worth of rest.
Which version would arrive for the ALDS was among Houston’s most pressing playoff questions. But ready or not, the Astros were willing to rely upon this oft-injured but talented 25-year-old.
“I think the layoff certainly hurt him,” Hinch said before Sunday’s Game 2 of the AL Championship Series. “And it’s not like (just) jumping back into the game. You’re jumping in against elite pitching. It’s tough on a normal (player). It’s just part of facing really good pitching every single day.”
Correa’s heroics Sunday demonstrated why trusting him was a worthwhile wager. His timing might not be entirely back, but just a sliver of Correa’s most magnificent self can completely change the Astros’ lineup
Correa crushed a first-pitch, opposite-field walk-off home run in the 11th inning to alter the entire complexion of the ALCS, which finds the Astros and Yankees even at a game apiece as it heads to New York. It was the completion of Correa’s breakthrough game, one long-awaited by a lineup needing as much length as possible.
“My cage work today was amazing,” Correa said before Sunday’s 3-2 victory. “And I was very confident going into the game that today was the day where I was going to break out. I had some good atbats.”
Correa entered the game with 10 strikeouts and three hits in his first 22 playoff at-bats. He struck out twice more Sunday.
He was far from alone in lack of productivity — Houston’s lineup has gone 10-for-45 with runners in scoring position in seven playoff games — but his truncated regular season and constant setbacks leave him a glaring target for criticism.
While Correa’s offense withered against two elite pitching staffs, Hinch remained resolute. He heaped more praise on the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees than criticism toward his own lineup. He acknowledged an urgent need to string at-bats together but warned against overreaction.
“I think it’s important this time of year to not act aggressively either way,” Hinch said. “One game, and all of a sudden we’re talking about him having a breakout game. This is a tough time to react to successes or failures.”
Perhaps then, Correa’s Sunday night should be taken into proper perspective. The Astros do not need him to be a transformative force and carry the lineup.
“He’s really good,” Hinch said. “He needs to be himself, and when he can and he gets a chance to do some damage, then great. When he draws a walk, great. When he puts up a tough at-bat and they happen to get the better of him, so be it. We get to the next at-bat.”
From the seven-hole Sunday,
Correa put three balls in play to all three areas of the field. Each was struck harder than
102.5 mph, and each came off a different Yankees pitcher. That Correa sprayed such an assortment of pitches and adjusted to a carousel of pitchers was a clear indicator that something transformed.
Correa pulverized a James Paxton curveball down the third-base line for a run-scoring double in the second. He turned toward his dugout even before the baseball eluded Gio Urshela, pumping his fists in delight.
“He’s been busting his (butt) working on his swing,” third baseman Alex Bregman said, “and it looked pretty (dang) good tonight.”
Tommy Kahnle leaked a 97 mph fastball over the middle in the sixth. Correa crushed it to center field at 103.8 mph. It died at the warning track. His next missile did no such thing.
“I think it’s a good sign,” Hinch said Sunday. “He’s a tremendous player. He kind of makes his presence known in all facets of the game when he’s right. And I think that’s a key part of our team that we need in order for us to be complete.”