Sometimes you go to the field and see something you’ve never seen before. Like the Minnesota Twins, turning the kind of triple play that has never been recorded in MLB history.
Facing the Chicago White Sox with no outs and men on first and second in the seventh inning, Twins pitcher Griffin Jacks gave up what appeared to be a tiebreaking three-run homer, or at least an extra-base hit, to AJ Pollock . Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers seemed to think so, immediately diving forward when he saw the contact.
And then, well, Buxton made a very good play, while the White Sox baserunners made a very bad play.
Adam Engel had started the game on second while Yoan Moncada was on first. Buxton singled until no baserunners were on, then fielded the ball quickly enough for Twins third baseman Gio Urschella to bunt Moncada between second and third and second to get Engel out.
It was the first recorded 8-5 triple play in MLB history, according to Sara Langs of MLB.com.
In fairness to the White Sox, Statcast had Pollock’s fly ball as a 389-foot hit with an .820 xBA, effectively an 82 percent hit chance. On the other hand, that still leaves an 18 percent chance of a very embarrassing mistake, a historic one at that.
White Sox manager Tony La Russa’s face really says it all.
That it was Buxton who started the first-ever triple play should come as no surprise. The 28-year-old has long been one of the best outfielders in the game when healthy, both in arm and range. He was also responsible for the Twins’ only runs to that point, hitting a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
Buxton’s 22 homers are tied for fourth in the American League, with a .227/.302/.576 slash line for the season. Regardless of his strength and performance, he remains a candidate for the first appearance in the All-Star Game this month.
Byron Buxton and the Twins did something unprecedented against the White Sox. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Add Comment