Carlos Correa among MLB's best hitters in June

Twins starter Bailey Ober pitched a terrific game in the first game of a doubleheader against the Oakland Athletics Sunday afternoon, tossing 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball in an eventual 6-2 victory.

But Ober did mention after the game there's one hitter he wouldn't want to face: Carlos Correa.

Along with Ober's strong start, the Twins got two homers from Correa — who went 3 for 5 with three RBIs overall — in their victory over the A's at Target Field in Minneapolis. Correa then put together another solid game, going 2 for 5 with an RBI in an 8-7 Twins victory later that night.

Not a bad day for Correa or the Twins, who completed the series sweep with the pair of victories. And to top it off, Correa was named the American League Player of the Week on Monday.

“Every single time (Correa) swings the bat, I feel like he’s barreling it up every time,” Ober said after the first of Sunday’s doubleheader. “I mean, all the singles that he’s had were still hit at like almost 110 (mph). He’s been hitting the ball really hard, and now he’s just getting the bat underneath and able to lift the ball a little bit more (Sunday), and you saw what he did.”

Sunday was just the latest of what's been a torrid June for Correa, who's hitting a whopping .431 this month, which is a mark good for third in the major leagues among players with at least 10 at-bats. On top of that, Correa also has 16 RBIs, four homers and boasts a .500 on-base percentage in June.

That includes special games like his two-homer performance Sunday as well as a career-best five-hit game during a June 12 victory over the Colorado Rockies in which the Twins set a season high with 24 hits.

“I started the season feeling great and went on the IL for a little bit and then couldn’t quite find a feel, but lately I’ve been feeling a lot better in terms of what I was feeling prior to the injury,” Correa said. “But yeah, I’m in a good spot right now, so now I just want to make it last as long as possible.”

Correa's value to the Twins doesn't stop at his individual performance; he's also a leader on the team who takes pride in helping his teammates reach the peak of their potential. One player in particular seems to be doing exactly that: Royce Lewis, who Correa describes as a "generational talent" who takes advice and applies it better than anyone Correa has encountered.

An example of that came after Correa hit a two-run homer during the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader. Instead of immediately celebrating, Correa went over and whispered something to Lewis before his at-bat. Lewis then swung at the first pitch he saw and hit a solo homer.

Lewis, who's had a pretty impressive June of his own with a .359 batting average, six homers and 10 RBIs, has been hitting behind Correa, and both players have voiced their approval of that order.

Related: Royce Lewis can be Minnesota's version of Aaron Judge

Correa knows how valuable it is to get on base for a player like Lewis, who's a threat to go deep every at-bat. Correa hit five singles against the Rockies on June 12, and sure enough Lewis homered behind him in the sixth inning that made it a 10-2 game, one the Twins eventually won 17-9.

Lewis likes hitting behind Correa, too.

"For (Correa) it's going really well. It's special to watch, and I love that he's hitting in front of me, it makes it nice because I get to see some of the pitches that get thrown to me basically right before my at-bat," Lewis said.

The bats of Correa and Lewis have been a driver of the Twins' offense, and the results have followed. The Twins have won five straight and they're looking to keep that momentum rolling.

"I love our lineup. I love where we're at right now as a team. We're very confident, and we have to keep it going," Correa said.