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White Sox first to turn trio of triple plays in same season since 1979
We haven’t even reached the All-Star break, yet the Chicago White Sox have already done something no other MLB team has been able to accomplish since the Boston Red Sox and Oakland A’s back in 1979.
In a span of 86 games, the White Sox have turned not one, not two, but three triple plays, with the latest coming during Friday’s wild 11-8 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
It all started on April 22, when Chicago turned the craziest triple plays we’ve seen in a long time against the Texas Rangers. Then, on May 18, they did it again against the Houston Astros, though that time in a more traditional manner.
Friday’s triple play probably met those two somewhere in the middle. It wasn’t the craziest we’ve seen, but it was far from smooth or conventional as the Braves baserunners were left hanging out to dry by a line drive.
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It happened in the third inning with Chicago leading 4-3. The Braves had runners on first and second with no outs when Freddie Freeman smoked a liner that shortstop Tim Anderson had to scoop off the ground. Anderson tagged Chase d’Arnaud, who had been caught freezing on the line drive and only strayed a few feet from the base, for the first out. He stepped on second base for the second out. Then, with his momentum carrying him toward first base, he fired across to get Freeman to complete the trifecta.
There was temporary confusion as the umpires sorted out the order of events. Had Anderson touched second base first, for example, then d’Arnaud would have been safe if his foot made it to the bag before being tagged. Upon review, everything still added up to a 6-3 triple play.
Braves hit into a triple-play vs White Sox, the 4th in MLB this season.
3 of them have been turned by the White Sox
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 9, 2016
As strange as that single play was, the strangest thing from this game may be the result. The Braves managed to deliver three home runs and four doubles against White Sox ace Chris Sale as they denied him an MLB-best 15th win. That’s right, not even a triple play could save the AL’s best pitcher this season from losing to MLB’s worst team. There’s no explanation, other than to remind you that baseball thrives on being unpredictable.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
