Triple plays are always fun, and the Minnesota Twins pulled off an epic one Thursday night in Anaheim against the Angels. Albert Pujols and Yunel Escobar singled to start the bottom of the fourth inning, but Jefry Marte then hit a ground ball to third base off Adalberto Mejia. Miguel Sano gloved it and stepped on the bag, then fired to Brian Dozier at second, who relayed it over to Joe Mauer at first for the third out. Here’s a GIF of it:
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/870486007803555841
Here’s a reverse angle:
https://twitter.com/timattwister/status/870481962695348224
That’s an impressive play under any circumstances, but it’s made perhaps even better when you consider the rarity of this for the Twins. They hadn’t turned a triple play since 2006, and the Angels hadn’t had one turned against them since 2004. History was made on both ends Thursday night, though, and it certainly gave Minnesota fans something to get excited about. It was a good night for Sano, too, as in addition to starting this triple play, he hit this massive solo home run to center field in the second inning:
Nicely done indeed. And it might be a sign of more to come. The Twins were 26-23 heading into this game, just two games back of the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central. And they were tied 1-1 in the seventh Thursday, thanks partly to this impressive defensive play. Plays like this might just keep them in the playoff race.
