Pablo Lopez dumps beers onto Audra Martin in the middle of an interview, and she didn't miss a beat
What an absolute pro.
Friday night's division clinching win by the Minnesota Twins featured a few clutch moments, but none bigger than what Audra Martin pulled off.
For the first time since 2010, the Twins won the AL Central at home in front of fans. It's been a long 13 years since watching Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Joe Nathan, Jim Thome, and the rest of that crew raise the banner but unlike that night the Twins controlled their own destiny on Friday. The team didn't need to win and then wait to see what happened around the league; Minnesota outright won a division title by beating the Angels.
Things were a little more stressful than they probably had to be. Despite leading 8-3 in the seventh inning, Twins fans were biting their nails in the ninth as Jhoan Duran closed things out after the lead shrunk to just two runs. Both Duran and Louie Varland deserve blame for the leaking the lead, but in the end the game was won and the division was clinched.
A handful of Twins players turned in clutch moments, from Kyle Farmer getting the twins an early lead to Alex Kirilloff getting it back, to Edouard Juilen's glove sealing the final out. No performance was more impressive, though, than what Audra Martin pulled off during the locker room celebration.
Pablo Lopez dumped beers on Audra Martin during Minnesota Twins celebration, and she didn't miss a beat
Amid the absolute chaos, Martin was interviewing Bailey Ober when Pablo Lopez came over and dumped two beers onto her head. It seemed innocent enough and like any other part of a locker room celebration, but it was still a little awkward watching it in the moment.
Lopez didn't mean any disrespect, but Martin is just trying to do her job and being in the middle of a celebration isn't an excuse to make her part of it.
"You're part of the team," Lopez says while embracing both Ober and Martin.
Like the absolute pro that she is, though, Martin doesn't miss a single beat and returned to asking Ober about being part of the Twins first reliable pitching staff in what seems like forever.
What a pro's pro, and what a clutch way to end a division-clinching performance by everyone in the locker room.
It's not the first time Martin has caught stray spray from a postgame celebration, but it's not often that she's the intended target. Twins fans watching at home were quick to show their appreciation for Martin and put some respect on her name as one of the very best in the business.
The future of Bally Sports North is uncertain after the bankruptcy scandal that rocked Diamond Sports Group this season. The Twins were among the team that Diamond just flat out stopped paying when their books exploded, and it begged the question of whether or not the Twins should break out and go solo with their own broadcasting company.
If that happens, Audra Martin needs to be a No. 1 pick for the broadcast team the Twins put together. Her analysis and interviews are among the very best thing about the Bally Sports broadcasts and she's a fan favorite the same as players like Royce Lewis and Joe Ryan are.
Her work already speaks for itself, but if anyone needs further proof of how unbelievably good she is at her job, look no further than her postgame performance on Friday night.