Bryce Harper tried to leapfrog the legend of La Tortuga. His efforts failed.
The Phillies cut the Twins' lead to one run in the bottom of the sixth and were threatening for more with runners on first and second and one out. But they would get no further, thanks to Byron Buxton's 96.1-mph throw from shallow center field and catcher Willians Astudillo, who coolly applied the tag on Harper to end the inning. The Twins went on to win, 6-2.
"Didn’t matter to me as long as I got him out," Buxton said. "I knew he was running, so you try to get the throw as close as possible. I usually have a time trying to get it over the pitcher's mound and into the side. I got a lot better angle at where I want to put the ball."
"I just tried to simplify things," Astudillo said. "Basically, I was looking at the ball. I knew he was coming. I could hear him, but I just tried to concentrate and catch the ball first and then tag him. I knew the ball was going to get there first so it worked out.
"I've seen some videos of him before trying to do that, and my thought process was just be ready for whatever might happen. I just wanted to catch the ball first, secure that and just take care of the tag."