Correa’s two blasts sink Twins in eight-inning thriller

Carlos Correa clubbed two home runs—including a go-ahead eighth-inning blast—to lift the Houston Astros past the Minnesota Twins 5-4 at Target Field. The Astros starter José Urquidy allowed three runs in the first, but Correa’s pair of long balls—one a solo shot in the third, the other a two-run smash off Caleb Thielbar in the eighth—turned the tide. Minnesota’s bullpen absorbed the damage until the final frame, when a late defensive miscue by shortstop Carlos Correa—yes, the same man now wearing an Astros uniform—created the decisive run.

Houston’s bullpen, anchored by Ryan Pressly, held firm after Urquidy’s shaky start, surrendering just one run over the final six innings. Minnesota’s offense, meanwhile, scratched across four runs on solo homers from Byron Buxton and Luis Arraez, plus RBI singles from Jorge Polanco and Alex Kirilloff, but couldn’t overcome the deficit. Correa’s clutch eighth-inning homer punctuated a seesaw contest that swung on a sequence of late mistakes and timely swings.

The Twins’ bullpen, already thin after a high-leverage series against Cleveland, absorbed another blow in a game that felt like a microcosm of their late-season inconsistencies. Defensive lapses proved pivotal. Minnesota’s infield, typically reliable, coughed up two unearned runs in the eighth when a misplayed grounder and a throwing error extended an inning that should have been over.

Houston’s offense, meanwhile, capitalized on Minnesota’s shaky glove work, with Correa’s second homer arriving on a pitch that hung in the zone longer than it should have. The loss dropped the Twins to 78-72, keeping them three games back of the final wild-card spot with just 12 to play. For Houston, the win preserved a four-game AL West lead and reinforced their reputation as a team that thrives in tight spots.

Both clubs now face must-win scenarios in the season’s final stretch, with Minnesota’s bullpen reliability and Houston’s late-inning resilience under fresh scrutiny. The game also exposed deeper roster fissures for Minnesota. 8 runs over their last 10 games when trailing after the sixth inning.

78 ERA since August 1 ranks 24th in baseball, a figure that grows more alarming when accounting for their league-leading 18 blown saves in that span. 9 runs per game in the seventh inning or later this season, a stat that underscores their reputation as a team built for October. The Twins’ inability to close out games late—despite Buxton’s and Arraez’s offensive bursts—highlights the gap between regular-season promise and October readiness.

Houston’s bullpen, despite Urquidy’s rocky start, has quietly become the league’s second-best in ERA since the All-Star break, a testament to manager Dusty Baker’s bullpen management and the depth of a roster built for October. The contrast between Houston’s late-inning resilience and Minnesota’s late-season collapses underscores the fine margins that separate contenders from pretenders as the regular season winds down. “You’re always looking for a big swing when the game’s on the line,” Correa said postgame.

” What’s next: Minnesota hosts Cleveland for a critical three-game set starting Friday, while Houston travels to Seattle for a weekend series against the Mariners. Both series carry playoff implications, with the Twins needing to sweep to keep their wild-card hopes alive and the Astros aiming to tighten their grip on the AL West. Read at ESPN