The Minnesota Twins will wrap up their three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif. The game also will complete the Twins’ stay in Southern California, which will have included five games over six days against the Dodgers and Angels.
Normally, any appearance by the Twins in Southern California doesn’t rankle many, but it’s different for Twins shortstop Carlos Correa.
Correa was on the Houston Astros club that beat the Dodgers in the 2017 World Series, and he later was found to have illegally relayed signs to the Astros’ hitters.
Correa gets booed at Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium, but the animosity, he said, is limited to when he’s on the field.
On Thursday’s off-day before the first game of the series against the Angels, Correa took his wife and young son to Disneyland, anticipating there might be trouble.
There wasn’t.
“You know what I realized? That in the stadium, when I go, they like to boo and stuff, and it’s like an entertainment type of thing for everyone to just do that,” Correa said. “But when they see me on the streets, they’re, like, super nice.”
Correa, who went 2-for-2 with a homer, three walks and a sacrifice fly in Saturday’s 5-3, 11-inning loss to the Angels, also had a day off last Monday in Los Angeles before the Twins’ series against the Dodgers.
“In this trip here, I also went to the aquarium in L.A. over there, and I went to restaurants and stuff, and people were super nice and super, super fun,” Correa said. “And I was just taking pictures with everyone. It was cool. So one thing I learned is (the animosity) is part of the entertainment when I go to the stadiums.”
Right-hander Chris Archer (2-5, 4.02 ERA) will make his 20th start of the season for the Twins. He is winless in his last five starts, going 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA. Archer is 6-2 with a 2.50 ERA in nine career starts against the Angels.
Left-hander Tucker Davidson (1-3, 7.91) will make his sixth appearance (fifth start) of the season, but just his second start with the Angels since being acquired by the club in a trade deadline deal that sent closer Raisel Iglesias to the Atlanta Braves.
In his debut with Los Angeles last Sunday, Davidson was tagged for six runs on six hits and five walks in four innings in a loss to the Seattle Mariners.
The biggest issue was the five walks, something that has been a problem at the big league level for Davidson, but not in the minors, where he has spent most of this season.
“If you look at my walk rate in Triple-A, it’s the lowest of my career,” Davidson said. “I just have to translate it up here. Maybe not be so fine and trust my stuff. More of a ‘here it is, hit it,’ and then good things will happen. I think the big thing is getting ahead with strike-one and putting the throttle down when I can.”
Davidson has never faced the Twins.
–Field Level Media