A triple play to end a game had happened just 27 times in MLB history — and not for nearly 12 years. But with practically no margin for error, the Yankees pulled it off to seal a 2-1 win over the A’s on Sunday. The high-wire act was named the Play of the Week by MLB on Monday.
Dealing with a fingernail issue, Aroldis Chapman walked the first two batters he faced in the ninth. Chapman threw a 98.4 mph fastball down and in, and Oakland’s Sean Murphy lined a grounder right to third base. Gio Urshela grabbed it and stepped on the bag for the first out. He threw it to DJ LeMahieu for the second, and LeMahieu relayed it to first baseman Chris Gittens for the third and final out of the ballgame.
And just like that, New York’s record-tying third triple play of the season proved to be their most dramatic. The last time a triple play ended a game was Aug. 23, 2009, when the Phillies turned one against the Mets.
“We were just trying to get strike 1 there,” catcher Gary Sánchez said through an interpreter. “Hopefully get ahead in the count, strike a guy out, follow that with a double play. But things worked out better than I expected.”
The triple play marked the Yankees’ second Play of the Week win this season, after Clint Frazier’s Superman-style grab on April 25, and their fourth win since the award’s inception in 2019.