Every time you go to the playground, you may see something you haven’t seen before. And that was the case on Monday at Guaranteed Rate Field, where fans watched the first 8-5 (midfielder to third key player) play a three-pointer in MLB history. The Minnesota Twins The first ever triple game of its kind turned against the house Chicago White Sox In a 6-3, final victory, though it would be more accurate to say the White Sox got into three-way play.
AJ Bullock raised a well-hitting fly ball with no 1st and 2nd place riders to Byron Paxton in the center field, and Yoann Moncada and Adam Engel both had some mental breakdown at the bases after catching. Here is the video.
It’s a confusing game, so here’s the breakdown: Buxton’s catch is the first thing that comes out. The second is Gio Urshela tagging Moncada, who was the runner at first base when the play began. And the third is that Orchila steps on the second base to double Engel. Engel was off the frame and somewhere near the home plate at the time.
Although the trilogy is the main title, you should take a minute to appreciate Buxton’s hunting. This was not an easy play. Statcast says Bullock’s engine had an 82 percent hit probability based on launch angle and exit speed. Buxton is good in the center field. Engel said he thought the ball wasn’t caught, which is why he ran home.
“When he looked toward the wall, I thought he was looking for the ball to fall,” Engel told MLB.com. “I just made a bad play. I got it wrong. Unfortunate. It cost us some kicks there, probably, and we could have gone on to win the match.”
MLB.com and the SABR database both confirm It’s actually the first 8-5 triple in baseball history. According to my unofficial count, this is the 27th triple-play started by a midfielder, and the first since the previous New York Mets Midfielder Angel Bagan The triple 8-2-6-3 started with a little catch against the Washington citizens in 2010.
The twins have been transforming triple plays in the past few years. Monday was the fourth since 2019. No team has more. Meanwhile, the White Sox made threes in back-to-back seasons after not entering one in 2011-20.
This is the third play of the trilogy this season. The Texas Rangers Triple game turned 3-6 against Seattle Mariners on April 20 The Nationals played a 5-4-3 three-way match against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 20.
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