Archie Bradley triple

Some NL pitchers are known for their hitting abilities, but Diamondbacks’ reliever Archie Bradley wouldn’t usually be thought of among them. Through three MLB regular seasons with the Diamondbacks, Bradley posted a .098/.097/.098 slash line, recording just six hits (all singles) in 61 at-bats. But during the National League wild card game Wednesday night, Bradley came up in the eighth with two on, two out and his team up 6-5, worked a 2-2 count, and cranked a triple into left-center field:

Here’s the replay:

That was quite the moment for Bradley, as it was his first career extra base hit and the first time in MLB history a reliever tripled in a postseason game. It was impressive how Bradley went down to get this one, too:

Archie Bradley

It was also impressive how quickly he was able to hustle around to third. Of course, his night wasn’t all great, as he gave up back-to-back solo home runs in the top of the eighth, reducing the Diamondbacks’ lead to 8-7. Still, his hit spawned plenty of comment, including this from MLB director of baseball research and development Daren Willman:

Indeed. It was quite the night for Bradley, and a contribution that most didn’t expect him to make.

[Clippit]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.