Catching Chris Taylor's Helmet May Be the Biggest Save of Blake Treinen's Career

Blake Treinen was predictably good for the Los Angeles Dodgers in last night's Wild Card game, getting five pressure-packed outs in a tied game. The righthander has cemented himself as one of the more dominant relievers in the game, posting a sub-2.00 ERA and sub-1.000 WHIP this season. The existence of Kenley Jansen means he gets fewer save opportunities than his skillset would suggest. He found his eighth of the year in an unusual place, though, and it may prove to be the most important of his career.

Watch closely at this clip of Chris Taylor's walk-off homer and jubilant celebration at home plate. Taylor, caught up in all emotion, flings his helmet toward the heavens and it comes down right in the thick of the scrum. Treinen reacts quickly and uses his 6-foot-5 frame to rise above the mass of bodies and Randy Moss it out of the air.

I'm not saying someone would have been injured, but someone definitely could have been injured. Taking the bill of a helmet to the face while it's falling from great height at 9.8 meters per second is never advisable. Treinen himself joked in the postgame that he deserved a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Probably nothing but possibly something. Dodgers fans wouldn't have been happy to wake up to news of a facial laceration to a star player. With a day off before the Divisional Series against San Francisco, manager Dave Roberts can use the time to practice celebratory helmet throws that land far away from uniformed bodies.