SAN DIEGO — Sonny Gray played an important role, and Byron Buxton, too. Carlos Correa gave the Twins some room, and Jhoan Duran helped make it stand up.
But don't overlook the athletic — well, that's probably not the right word — contribution of a 63-year-old veteran of 34 MLB seasons in the Twins' 7-1 victory over the Padres on Saturday.
Crew chief Jerry Layne pivoted to his right in the seventh inning, took a small but urgent hop, and made the defensive play of the game for the Twins, knocking down Jurickson Profar's all-but-certain game-tying single. The umpire's unintentional collision with the baseball ended the play, allowed Profar to take first base and, far more importantly, prevented speedy C.J. Abrams, under MLB rule 5.05(b)(4), from scoring from second base and tying the 2-1 game, as he surely would have.
