The Twins had taken a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning of Sunday's game against Tampa Bay when Rays designated hitter Yandi Diaz came to bat with a runner on first base and one out.
Diaz crushed a line drive to center field that had the makings of trouble for the Twins.
But Byron Buxton intervened:
The throw was measured at 303 feet, and Rays runner Austin Meadows wasn't helped by the way that Twins' first baseman C.J. Cron pretended nothing special was about to happen until he casually caught the one-hop throw with a flick of his wrist.
"The play up against the wall," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "He can do things that other people just can't do."
Later in the game, Buxton stole second when he was caught leaning off first base, took third on a throwing error on that play and scored on a squeeze bunt by Jorge Polanco that didn't go more than 15 feet from home plate.
That put the Twins ahead 4-0 on their way to a 7-0 lead. Both plays became more essential in hindsight when the Rays rallied within two runs before the Twins escaped with a 9-7 victory, their third in four games at Tampa Bay.
