Some bad Tigers defense helped the Twins win 5-4 on Tuesday, but the crazy finish might never have mattered if not for some sharp defense by the Twins.
When Chris Paddack allowed hits to the first two Tigers hitters in the sixth inning, Jorge Polanco and Carlos Correa prevented a big inning by turning an Austin Meadows ground ball into a slick second-to-short-to-first double play.
"Defense wins ballgames," said Correa, who was also the pivot man in an unusual third-to-short-to-first double play in the second inning, caused by the Twins' shift. "You could see it in the game [Tuesday] — defense was the difference."
Along with Gio Urshela at third base, the Twins have three potential ground-ball vacuums in the infield, and it showed again in the fourth inning Wednesday, when Urshela converted Meadows' slow roller and Correa speared Javy Baez's 107-mph smash into outs.
The season is only three weeks old, but does this unit, which also includes Miguel Sano at first base and Luis Arraez as a utility player, look like the best infield defense Rocco Baldelli has managed in his four seasons with the Twins?
"It probably is," Baldelli agreed. "When you're looking around the diamond at the guys we have out there, it's hard to think we've had a better defense. You feel pretty confident that when the ball gets hit on the ground, we're going to make the plays."
Even some that nobody expects. Urshela made a play on Sunday in a 6-4 victory over the White Sox that will be hard to top this year, diving far to his right to grab an AJ Pollock ground ball, rolling over, then firing the ball to Sano while sitting on the ground.
"That's not something I practice. I just relaxed and tried to put what I could" on the throw, Urshela said. "Our defense has been really good. You can see we're all getting comfortable with each other."