Whoops - then a wow: Orioles pull off bizarre triple play vs. Red Sox

On a night full of controversy between two emotionally-charged AL East rivals, one memorable play on the field took a back seat.

May 3, 2017 at 5:47AM
Baltimore Orioles' J.J. Hardy, left, reaches for the ball in front of Trey Mancini after failing to make the catch on a pop up by Boston Red Sox's Jackie Bradley Jr., leading to a triple play during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, May 2, 2017, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Baltimore Orioles' J.J. Hardy, left, reaches for the ball in front of Trey Mancini after failing to make the catch on a pop up by Boston Red Sox's Jackie Bradley Jr., leading to a triple play during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, May 2, 2017, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) (Brian Stensaas — Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Just when you think you've seen it all, here come the Orioles and Red Sox with a "what the heck happened" moment for the ages.

And, no, we're not talking about Chris Sale throwing behind Manny Machado or Machado's profanity-laced rant following the game.

Tuesday night at Fenway Park, what looked to be a blunder of blunders by Baltimore instead turned into one of the rarest plays in baseball: a triple play.

From the Associated Press:

The triple play came in the eighth with Mitch Moreland on second and Dustin Pedroia on first. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a popup and J.J. Hardy called for the ball, but it dropped. The infield fly rule wasn't called, and Hardy picked up the ball and threw to second, where Jonathan Schoop tagged Moreland and stepped on the base to force Pedroia. Schoop then threw to first to retire Bradley at first, who had peeled off and headed back to the dugout.

Confused? So were Bob Costas and John Smoltz on the MLB Network broadcast, with Costas asking 90 seconds after the ball dropped in left: "Are we looking at a triple play?"

Indeed, Bob. Indeed.

Have a look at how the whole deal played out live on national television.

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about the writer

Brian Stensaas

Multiplatform Editing Team Leader

Brian Stensaas has been with the Minnesota Star Tribune since 2004. He is a Multiplatform Editing Team Leader, with reporting experience covering high school sports, the NHL, NBA and professional golf.

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