1 of 5 | Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa recorded 14 hits over his last five games, the best five-game stretch of his career. File Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo
Carlos Correa honored music icon Prince after smashing a nearly 400-foot home run in a Minnesota Twins win over the Oakland Athletics, sporting a matching purple hat, vest and inflatable guitar in the dugout.
The gesture to “The High Priest of Pop” was made on Prince Night on Thursday at Target Field in Minneapolis. Many of the fans in attendance wore purple garb in honor of the “Purple Rain” singer and Minneapolis native. Advertisement
“I didn’t have it planned, but once they gave me the guitar, I was like, ‘OK, let’s do it,'” Correa told reporters. “I played a lot of Guitar Hero when I was growing up, so I knew what to do with it.”
Correa went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs scored for the Twins. Center fielder Byron Buxton went 3 for 3 with two RBIs, a run scored and a walk. Left fielder Austin Martin went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Advertisement
Twins starter Joe Ryan allowed just three hits and two runs over seven innings to improve to 5-5 this season.
The Athletics got on the scoreboard first, with first baseman Tyler Soderstrom hitting a 1-1 Ryan splitter to center for a 431-foot, two-run homer.
Buxton then plated Correa and right fielder Max Kepler with an RBI double in the bottom of the inning. Correa put the Twins ahead for good with an RBI single in the third. He flew out in his next at-bat, but returned to the plate in the seventh for his 394-foot homer homage.
Twins third baseman Royce Lewis reached base on a single in the second at-bat of the half inning. Correa then settled in against Athletics relief pitcher Sean Newcomb.
The left-handed pitcher missed the strike zone with his first two offerings. He then threw a 95.3-mph fastball for a strike. He followed that pitch with a slurve, which drifted into the lower-inside portion of the zone.
Correa pounced on the pitch, sending it into the second deck in left field. Correa jogged around the bases before meeting pitcher Pablo Lopez at the top of the dugout steps. Lopez held out the purple vest for Correa, who stepped into the outfit. He then threw on the hat and grabbed his inflatable instrument for a celebratory air rift. Advertisement
Twins relief pitchers Griffin Jax and Jorge Alcala did not allow a run over the final two innings to secure the victory.
With his three-hit performance, Correa now has 14 hits over his last five games, the best stretch of his career. He is hitting .299 with six home runs and 31 RBIs this season.
Fans who attended Prince Night had the option to buy a theme night package. That package included a game ticket and a purple Prince track jacket that featured the artist’s love symbol and a Twins logo.
The Twins (37-32) won four of their last five games and sit in third place in the American League Central, 7.5 games behind the division-leading Cleveland Guardians (43-23) and 2.5 games behind the second-place Kansas City Royals (40-30).
They will host the Athletics in the second game of their four-game series at 8:10 p.m. EDT Friday at Target Field. The Athletics (26-45) own the second-worst record in the American League.
