Astros shortstop Carlos Correa made the final out of Thursday night’s 7-4 loss to the Blue Jays. Closer Roberto Osuna threw a 3-2 cutter, getting Correa to tap back weakly to the mound. Correa very lightly jogged towards first base while Osuna took a few steps towards first base while holding the ball before throwing.
That delay of one or two seconds has Correa salty. After the game, he said (via Hunter Atkins of the Houston Chronicle), “I don’t know what’s so special about that: throwing me a 3-2 cutter; showing me up... I go home, relax. Next time I face him, he better not give up a homer.”
Here’s a link to the video of the final out. First baseman Justin Smoak was actually late getting to the first base bag, which explains most of Osuna’s pause. Osuna could’ve thrown a little earlier, leading Smoak to the bag, but that’s also just a bit more risky. And since Correa wasn’t exactly making a beeline for first base, Osuna had the fortune of waiting a little longer. It doesn’t seem like Osuna was trying to show up Correa at all.
At the very least, though, it’s nice to see a complaint coming from a hitter, as it’s usually pitchers complaining about being shown up because batters take too long to get out of the box after hitting a home run. Now we know that players at all positions can be irrational and petty about other players’ behavior.
The Astros and Jays just kicked off their four-game set in Toronto, so there’s three more games that have the potential for drama.
