SAN FRANCISCO -- Even though Carlos Correa will miss Tuesday¡¯s All-Star Game in Texas with a foot injury, he and the family are going and 2 1/2-year-old Kylo is ready to meet his favorite player.

¡°Kylo sees Aaron Judge on TV and he goes crazy,¡± Correa said Sunday before the Twins finished the first half with a 3-2 walk-off loss to the Giants. ¡°I think he has a whole speech for Aaron Judge and everything.¡±

The Rangers' Corey Seager replaced Correa on the American League roster because of an injury that Correa understands too well. An MRI Saturday revealed plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Last year, Correa played the final four months of the regular season with the same ailment in his left foot, keeping mum on how badly he was hurting and contributing to his worst statistical full season in the Major Leagues.

¡°Last year I played through a lot of pain,¡± Correa said. To his ¡°great relief,¡± however, Saturday¡¯s MRI showed this injury is not as severe.

Correa even was able to smile about incurring both injuries while the Twins were playing the Giants, who offered him a 13-year, $350 million contract after the 2022 season then backed out because he failed their physical. When asked about that Sunday, Correa wiggled his fingers in front of his hands as if to say someone in these parts put the whammy on him.

There was no talk Sunday about a trip to the injured list. Correa hopes to be ready for the second-half opener Friday against Milwaukee.

At the same time, Correa pledged he would not repeat the same mistake as last year after he hurt his left foot in late May. He returned to the lineup after three days off, not allowing the injury to heal sufficiently. While Correa valiantly played through pain until the Twins clinched a playoff spot and he could finally rest, he wasn¡¯t the same player.

Correa made it clear Sunday he wants to be who he is supposed to be the rest of the 2024 season.

¡°I don¡¯t want to be just a body on the field,¡± he said. ¡°I want to be able to perform to the best of my ability. One thing I learned is that people don¡¯t care if you go out there and play hurt. They¡¯re always going to talk about your performance, and that only.

¡°So I¡¯m just going to make sure that when I¡¯m on the field I¡¯m not just somebody standing there. I¡¯m going to be Carlos Correa.¡±

Manager Rocco Baldelli sees a player in tune with his own body, so he trusts Correa and the team¡¯s medical staff to manage the injury in a way that benefits the shortstop and the team.

Baldelli does not view the injury as a long-term hindrance, saying, ¡°Last year he played through something that was noticeably more severe and he played through it basically the entire season.¡±

While all teams benefit from the All-Star break, the Twins might need it as much as anybody. They played their final two games in San Francisco without Correa, third baseman Jose Miranda and center fielder Byron Buxton.

Miranda went on the injured list Sunday with a lower back strain. Buxton hurt his throwing elbow crashing into the outfield wall at Oracle Park in the series opener Friday night.

The Twins overcame these absences to beat the Giants on Saturday, but in the series decider, the depleted lineup did not reach base for the first six innings against Blake Snell. Manuel Margot broke up the perfect game with a flared single to left leading off the seventh. He was erased on a double play, helping Snell complete seven one-hit innings without a walk.

The Twins tied a 2-0 game in the ninth against Giants closer Camilo Doval on Margot¡¯s two-run double to the wall in left-center. Margot probably would have tripled had he not slipped halfway to third base. He managed to return to second as the throw went to third.

New pitcher Ryan Walker retired Willi Castro and Brooks Lee to prevent Margot from scoring the go-ahead run. The Twins then lost in the bottom half when Mike Yastrzemski hit a leadoff triple beyond Margot¡¯s dive in center and was awarded home plate when Lee sailed his relay into the Giants dugout.

It was a bad end to a fine first half for the Twins, who entered the break 54-42, holding the second American League Wild Card spot while lurking 4 1/2 games behind first-place Cleveland in the race for the AL Central title.