The Braves pulled off a bizarre and effortless triple play against the Red Sox, thanks to a major baserunning mistake. It started with a chopper that put the first runner on base. Then a full-count pitch put another runner on after some confusion about whether it hit him. With runners on first and second, the next batter hit a shallow fly ball to center. The center fielder came in and made the catch for the first out. The runner on first had been running and didn’t tag up, so he was easily doubled off for the second out. Then the runner on second decided to tag and try for third, but he was thrown out by a mile.
Just like that, the Braves had turned a triple play without much effort. They barely celebrated. The Red Sox, on the other hand, looked stunned. Alex Cora sat in the dugout trying to process how it unfolded. It was a textbook example of what not to do on the basepaths. All three outs came on one simple fly ball.