AL DIVISION SERIES: TWINS VS ASTROS

October 8, 2023

Carlos Correa

Minute Maid Park

Minnesota Twins

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Twins - 6, Astros - 2

Q. Carlos, do you think this is your biggest game as a Twin? How do you feel?

CARLOS CORREA: I don't know. That's a tough question, but given the importance of this game, coming into tonight, we had to win this game to go out there and have a chance to win the series at Target Field.

Yeah, it was a pretty solid one.

Q. Maybe a two-part question, if you'll indulge me. When you were at home last year out of the playoffs, is this the kind of game you thought about?

CARLOS CORREA: Absolutely. Missing the playoffs last year was tough, but at the same time, it worked as motivation for me to, one, never miss it again and, two, be in the spotlight once again and be able to deliver for my team and feel that passion and love that I feel for this game and for winning.

I missed it so much when I was at home just watching, and this year I'm embracing the role, and we're in the playoffs, and I'm trying to get the team to the promised land, and we're going to keep working on that.

Q. I know you've said before that you're focused on your future with Minnesota now, but did it mean a little bit more to do it against the Astros?

CARLOS CORREA: Yeah, I would be lying if I said no. It's cool when you do it against your former team. But at the same time, the ultimate goal is for us to win the series. Like you said, I'm focused on bringing a championship to Minnesota, and that's what everybody in our clubhouse is working towards.

We've got to still win two more games in this series. It's going to be a good one. We've got a great team on the other side. I know what happens when they lose a game. I've been on the other side, and I know the speech and the meetings and all the stuff that happens. They'll be ready to go in the next game, so we will be.

Q. A couple of the guys were saying that Pablo made it very clear from the moment he got here today that he wanted the ball. This was the situation he wanted to be in. What did you see from him today just throughout the day and then when he was on the mound?

CARLOS CORREA: What you saw today was a true ace. He cements himself with this start as one of the best pitchers in the game, there's no doubt about that. On the biggest stage, the biggest spot, with the most pressure that anybody could have, he showed up, and he showed up big time against a great lineup. It was one of the most impressive outings I've ever seen.

It kind of reminded me of Gerrit Cole in 2019, when he would go out there and just -- it felt like hitters had no chance. That's how he looked today. He was really good.

Q. (Question in Spanish.)

CARLOS CORREA: He asked me how it felt to hit the RBIs and pass Jeter and David Ortiz. It's truly humbling. I grew up watching these guys play and idolizing them, practicing the jump throw like Jeter, try to hit homers and walkoffs like Big Papi, and just running the bases back home in Puerto Rico.

For me to surpass them in RBIs truly means a lot. They're two of the greatest players to ever play the game, and it's a great accomplishment for me and my family.

Q. Carlos, that at-bat in the fifth inning against Framber, that didn't look like that terrible of a pitch. How were you able to elevate that and get that into center field?

CARLOS CORREA: I hit a lot of sinkers before the game. I was getting ready for him. I know what he's trying to do when he's got a double play situation. I knew Maldy was going to go sinker, change-up, and I was ready to elevate it. I was going to swing under it even if I missed under.

I didn't want to hit a ground ball in that scenario. I hit for too many double plays in the regular season. I don't want to hit for them in the playoffs. Yeah, it felt good to be able to drive that one.

Q. What did it mean for just you and the team getting the early lead after you had talked about it yesterday, kind of the missed opportunities against Verlander, but getting three runs in the first two against Valdez?

CARLOS CORREA: It means a lot especially to the confidence for the guys in the clubhouse, to go out there and score early, give Pablo a lead. He's our ace for a reason. That's exactly what we did. That was the plan, score early, and then Pablo did his thing.

The lineup had a great approach. It was 9 versus 1. Yeah, it was a great game plan today.

Q. You need to win two more games to get the series now. You have Sonny on regular rest Tuesday, and if you need him, Pablo on regular rest Friday. How confident -- what kind of shape do you think the team is in to win the series now?

CARLOS CORREA: The confidence will always be there, right? Now we've got to execute and go out there and win ball games. In order for us to do that, we've got to play our best baseball. You're not going to go out there and beat the Astros playing 50 percent. You've got to go all out.

We have Sonny on the mound. We'll need a strong start for him in our lineup to keep going and keep putting up good at-bats like we did today, and we're going to be in a good spot.

Q. How does this win tonight help you guys going back to Minnesota?

CARLOS CORREA: It's very important. It gives us a lot of confidence going back home, and confidence is a key component in this game. So I like where we're at.

Q. You've shown a lot of emotion after big hits here in the past. How does it feel to be booed by these fans? Can you hear them? And can you describe the emotion, thumping your chest after that?

CARLOS CORREA: They're rooting for their team, right? I'm not on their team anymore. After everything I did for the organization, that's in the past. Now like I've moved forward. They've moved forward as well. And I understand it.

They want their team to win, and they want me to strike out every time. It's totally normal.