Wow, the Phillies just finished up a win over the Mets with one of the craziest half-innings I’ve ever seen. With the Phillies leading 9-6, Brad Lidge came on for the save in the bottom of the 9th. The first Mets batter, Angel Pagan, hit a ball down the first-base line and Ryan Howard let it go between his legs, leading to a 3-base error. The next batter, Luis Castillo, hit a ball right at Eric Bruntlett, who was playing second-base, and Bruntlett booted the ball for a second straight error, scoring Pagan to make it 9-7. Daniel Murphy followed with a ground-ball up the middle, and Bruntlett booted it again. It was scored a hit, but Bruntlett should have made the play and at least gotten the out at second.
So, all of a sudden, after two errors and a “hit”, the tying run was on base and the Mets fans at Citi Field were going crazy. With the way Lidge has pitched this year, the outcome appeared very much in question. I was fearing the worst. Then, on a 2-2 pitch to Jeff Francoeur, the Mets sent both runners on the pitch. Francoeur lined the pitch sharply up the middle, and it looked very much like a single that would put the tying run at third base with no outs. BUT, Bruntlett, the guy who had almost single-handedly created this mess, was standing right on second-base to cover the bag in case of a throw on the steal attempt. He made the catch, stepped on second, and tagged Murphy to complete a game-ending, unassisted triple play! I was stunned. The crowd was stunned. And the silence in Citi Field was music to my ears.
It was the 12th unassisted triple play in major league history. I remember Mickey Morandini had one in the mid-90’s, but I don’t know how many the Phils have had. I also don’t know how many ended a game. Either way, innings like that are one of the reasons baseball is so great. You just never know what you’re going to see.
And in closing, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Bruntlett needs to go. The guy is useless. If you’re hitting .155 and can’t play a decent second-base, you have no place on any major league roster, let alone a title contender. He’s got a ring and an unassisted triple-play, let’s send him on his way.
So true! That inning was NUTS. In fact, that whole game was crazy. Starting with the two 3-run HRs in the first, and the Mets pulling Perez with a 3-0 count on Pedro. Then that bizarre play where Victorino tried to get a ground-rule double on Pagan’s hit to start the Mets first, playing it into an inside-the-park HR. Just a wacky game.
Morandini’s, I think, is the only other one in Phillies history, but Randy Ready should have had one against the Padres some time in the early 90’s. I remember it because I had no life other than the Phillies in the early 90’s. It was basically the same play, only Ready–standing maybe 3 feet from the baserunner who had given up on the play–decided to throw to first for the 4-3 triple-play.
And, it was the second regular-season unassisted triple play to end a game, but there was one that ended a World Series game. Some team called the Brooklyn Robins were involved, so I’m guessing it was just after the turn of the century.
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