Shrugging off defensive gem, Twins' Nick Gordon willing to forgive dinner debt

You hear it all the time when a grateful pitcher talks about a great defensive play behind him: "I owe him dinner."

But do those pitchers actually pay that debt?

"They actually do," Nick Gordon said Thursday night, after learning Bailey Ober had made that pledge in gratitude for the outfielder's leaping catch of Manny Machado's deep fly ball in the fifth inning, saving a run from scoring in the Twins' 5-3 victory over San Diego. "But I hope he doesn't. Because that's my job. … I'm supposed to pick up my guys."

The Twins outfield has done that remarkably well this season, even without Platinum Glove-winning Byron Buxton patrolling the field. Entering Friday, opposing hitters were batting .083 (22-for-266) when hitting a fly ball against the Twins, home runs excluded. Only Seattle, holding batters to an .082 average, turned a higher percentage of fly balls into outs.

Twins center fielders were busy Thursday, with Gordon and Michael A. Taylor, who took over the position in the eighth inning, ranging all over the field to catch 10 fly balls. "It did feel like I got a lot of work, but I love it, man," Gordon said. "Anywhere I can help, any way we can win a ballgame, get outs and get our pitches off the field, that's definitely the plan."

Taylor also had a diving catch, again robbing Machado, to preserve Brock Stewart's scoreless eighth inning.

"They can run down anything," Ober said. "When I see a ball up in the air and it's hanging a little bit, I have confidence in my guys running it down."

There's a lot of basketball being discussed in the Twins clubhouse this week, and not because of the NBA playoffs. As part of a morale-building exercise, each member of the team's traveling party is required to wear an NBA jersey on their Sunday night flight to Los Angeles.

For a handful of players and coaches, the assignment is an easy one. Ryan Jeffers, for instance, bought an Anthony Edwards Timberwolves jersey last winter, though "I'm still not sure whether I have to wear the white sleeves underneath that he does," Jeffers said.

Similarly, Gordon scoffed at the question of what jersey he might wear. "The GOAT, of course," he said. "Michael Jordan, 400 times out of 400."

And first-base coach Hank Conger is using the opportunity to promote his favorite team from his childhood: The Seattle SuperSonics. "I've got a throwback Gary Payton jersey," Conger said. "I was a big Sonics fan."

Emilio Págan grew up in North Carolina, but wasn't a Hornets fan, he said. He became a Miami Heat fan after they drafted Dwyane Wade in 2003, and already owned the jersey he will wear.

Some players tried to be more creative. Michael A. Taylor, for instance, ordered a Jesus Shuttlesworth jersey, Ray Allen's character in Spike Lee's movie "He Got Game," but "it's not going to be here in time," he said. "Not sure what I'll end up with."

And for some players, the choice was fairly obvious. Berlin native Max Kepler, for instance — whose jersey will you wear? "Dirk Nowitzki," he said. "Of course."

• Kepler wasn't in the lineup Friday, but it was due to Cubs lefthander Drew Smyly being on the mound, Baldelli said. Kepler left Thursday's game with a cramp, and was fine a day later. Kepler pinch hit in the seventh inning.

• Righthander Ronny Henriquez's rehab assignment from a sore elbow ended Friday, and the 22-year-old rookie was optioned to Class AAA St. Paul. Henriquez who appeared in three games for the Twins last season, gave up three runs in 5⅔ innings with Class A Fort Myers and St. Paul the past two weeks.