DETROIT — The Philadelphia Phillies turned a rare triple play to snuff out a possible Detroit Tigers rally in the third inning Monday night.
Trailing 4-0, the Tigers had a chance to get something going when Zach McKinstry and Carson Kelly hit back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners.
Matt Vierling hit a broken-bat liner back to Aaron Nola, who tossed to Bryce Harper to double Kelly off first.
Catcher Garrett Stubbs, noticing McKinstry had never stopped running from third, signaled to Harper to throw to third, where Alec Bohm stepped on the bag to finish the triple play.
“I don’t know if it was the bat breaking, but [McKinstry] definitely thought the ball hit the ground,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “He held up until Nola threw to first, and then he was sprinting home. He just misread the play.”
It was the first 1-3-5 triple play in the majors since the Tigers turned one against the Boston Red Sox on July 11, 1929, Major League Baseball said, citing the Society for American Baseball Research.
“That was a pretty cool moment for all of us,” Harper said. “It was like going back to Little League, we were so excited.”
The Phillies beat the Tigers 8-1.
Philadelphia has won three straight by a combined score of 24-3.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.