The Minnesota Twins defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 on Friday, but they briefly lost one of their most important players in the process.
With one out in the top of the seventh, Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham drilled a ball off the right-field wall. With Pittsburgh trailing by one, Pham was aggressive and tried to stretch his single into a double.
Right fielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. played the carom perfectly, however, and fired a strike to second base. The throw beat Pham there, and Twins shortstop Carlos Correa tagged him out.
Trying to avoid the tag, Pham awkwardly dove head-first into second base. His helmet crashed into Correa’s right shin, causing Correa’s leg to buckle and his surgically repaired right ankle to roll.
Correa remained down on the ground in pain for a while before being carried off the field by Minnesota’s training staff.
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The Twins held on to win the game, taking the series opener at Target Field. After the game, they announced that Correa suffered a mild ankle sprain, indicating his injury wasn’t as bad as it looked.
He was also seen walking around without assistance and said he’s “fine,” according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic. While Correa will be held out of Saturday’s starting lineup as a precaution, he may be able to pinch-hit and could return to the starting lineup on Sunday.
That’s good news for Minnesota, which improved to 46-48 with the win and can’t afford to lose one of its best players for an extended period. Fortunately, Correa will get some extra rest next week with the All-Star Break coming up.
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The three-time All-Star was 1-for-3 with a strikeout before leaving the game. He’s having a down season by his standards, but he’s still batting a solid .261/.302/.385 with seven home runs, 16 doubles, 30 RBI and 0.2 WAR.
After playing just 86 games last year, Correa has avoided the IL so far this season, appearing in 82 of the Twins’ 94 games. They may be without him on Saturday, but it seems like he’s avoided a serious injury.
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Featured image via Matt Blewett/Imagn Images