MINNEAPOLIS — Contemplating they’re known as the Minnesota Twins, it’s no shock that good issues are available in pairs for this staff — together with, evidently, triple performs.
On Monday, the Twins turned three for the second time this season to flee a fourth-inning jam towards the Rangers. First baseman Jose Miranda and shortstop Carlos Correa mixed for a 3-6 triple play on a line drive off the bat of Nathaniel Lowe for the seventeenth triple play in Twins historical past, the membership’s most vital spotlight in a 2-1 loss to Texas at Goal Area.
“In my head, I used to be considering, ‘One pitch, two outs,’” mentioned right-hander Sonny Grey, who was on the mound for Minnesota. “By no means really thought, ‘One pitch, three outs.’ So, yeah, I used to be considering, like, make a superb pitch, floor ball to the fitting facet, double play, get this factor going. And subsequent factor you realize, I am strolling off the sector with three outs, and that was good. That was cool.”
Lowe hit a first-pitch fastball from Grey down the first-base line, the place Miranda was completely positioned to snag the liner to his proper. He scampered to first, the place he doubled off Corey Seager, and threw to second base, the place Correa tripled off Marcus Semien, who evidently received a nasty learn on the ball and had damaged towards third base.
“I used to be yelling at Miranda, ‘Throw it over right here!’ After which I needed to soar for it. So I wasn’t completely satisfied about that,” Correa mentioned with amusing.
The Twins have now turned the final two triple performs in MLB, with Monday’s play becoming a member of their 8-5 triple play towards the White Sox at Assured Charge Area on July 4 — the primary of its form in AL/NL historical past — to mark the fourth season in membership historical past during which the Twins have turned a number of triple performs, becoming a member of 2019, 1990 and 1988.
There have now been 14 triple performs in MLB for the reason that begin of the 2019 season, and the Twins personal 5 of these, probably the most in a four-season span for the reason that Cubs additionally turned 5 from 1962-65. For the Twins, that features the 2 this season, a 3-6-4 flip towards the Royals at Kauffman Stadium final June, and a pair of 5-4-3, around-the-horn turns in a three-week span through the ‘19 season.
That made for a pair of enjoyable coincidences, because the pitcher on the mound for the Twins throughout each of these Minnesota triple-play turns in ‘19 was Martín Pérez, who watched Monday’s play from the Rangers’ dugout after having made the beginning in Friday’s collection opener.
It’s additionally noteworthy that each Lowe and Seager have been concerned in Monday’s play — Lowe because the hitter, Seager because the runner on first — as these two had been answerable for the final 3-6 triple play in MLB, turned by the Rangers towards the Mariners at T-Cell Park on April 20.
On some other night time, the triple play would have been trigger for far more postgame wonderment and celebration, however pleasure was troublesome for the Twins to seek out on Monday, when their offense wrapped up a lackluster collection during which Minnesota went 2-for-26 with males in scoring place to drop three of 4 to the Rangers. They wanted a spark — they usually had hoped the triple play might need served as one.
“I used to be believing it was,” Twins supervisor Rocco Baldelli mentioned. “And that’s just a few triple performs for us we’ve seen right here. We’ll take a triple play, however we would like some wins.”
