Rangers turn a wild triple play against the Angels that hasn't been seen since 1912
The Texas Rangers did something that hasn’t been done since the Dodgers still played in Brooklyn, a loaf of bread only cost a nickel and the world was only two months removed from the Titanic tragedy.
Rangers teammates Jurickson Profar and Rougned Odor turned a triple play without retiring a batter for the first time since June 13, 1912, when those Brooklyn Dodgers did it against the Cincinnati Reds.
And, boy, was it confusing:
Profar seemed to be the only one who knew right away what really happened. Everyone from players to managers, umpires, broadcasters and fans required an explanation, so here goes: Profar short-hopped David Fletcher’s liner down the third-base line, stepped on the bag, tagged out Taylor Ward and threw to Odor for another force-out at second. Bing-bang-boom, see you in another 106 years.
“Every runner thought it was a line drive, that’s why we got a triple play,” said Profar, who thought it was a double play in the moment before realizing Kole Calhoun never left first base, via MLB.com. “I wasn’t sure why the runner at first base didn’t run either, so they thought it was a line drive.”
The Angels were leading 6-3 and threatening to put another crooked number on the board with the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the fourth inning when Profar and Odor turned the triple play. The Rangers rallied with four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull out the comeback win.
“That was a real game-changer,” added Angels manager Mike Scioscia, via MLB.com. “Profar made a great play on it. Fletch hit the ball hard, and they got out of the fourth inning with no damage at a time when we were going to pad our lead and hopefully get far enough in front.”
In addition to being the first triple play in which the batter wasn’t retired since 1912, it was also just the third 5-4 triple play since the expansion era began in 1961, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
