Aaron Nola, Phillies throw triple play against Tigers

DETROIT — Aaron Nola had gone through his first two innings at Comerica Park Monday night when the Tigers launched an offense.

And so, when Detroit led off the third with back-to-back singles, Nola calmly pulled the rug out from under the home team, leading to MLB’s first triple play this season and the first of its kind in nearly 100 years .

Matt Vierling’s weak liner to the mound with runners on the corners forced Nola to bend at the shin and snatch it out of the air for the first out. The initial reaction froze runner Carson Kelly midway between first and second and allowed Nola to easily pull the ball to first to eliminate him.

Next, the curious part. Zach McKinstry, who singled to open the inning, didn’t seem to see Nola catch Vierling’s hit in the air. McKinstry stopped about 20 feet from third base, then slowly moved up the line as Nola threw to first, a largely acceptable reaction when a runner tries to score on an inside grounder.

The only problem was that it wasn’t an infield grounder, and McKinstry didn’t score after Nola made the initial out. The Tigers shortstop seemed to think Nola was trying to throw the batter out at first, not double the runner. already on first, and sprinted home to score what he thought would be Detroit’s first point.

Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs, meanwhile, stepped in front of home plate and pointed toward third, and first baseman Bryce Harper threw the ball to third baseman Alec Bohm, who walked on the bag to end the round with a strange 1-3-5 triple. play.

According to the Society for American Baseball Research, Monday’s feat marked the first triple play in MLB since the Angels had one on August 18, 2023 against the Rays. It was the Phillies’ 37th triple play in club history and first since August 27, 2017 against the Cubs.

It was the first triple play against the Tigers since August 3, 2017 against the O’s, and the 29th total against Detroit in club history.

According to the SABR database, it was also the first 1-3-5 triple play since July 11, 1929, when the Tigers succeeded against Boston.