Off to the races: Angels hit four triples in one inning
Allow us to look beyond the caveat of “it’s only spring training” and simply marvel at the odds-defying accomplishment of the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
In a span of five batters during the third inning, Erick Aybar, C.J. Cron, Johnny Giavotella and Collin Cowgill each tripled against Cleveland Indians starter Trevor Bauer, completing a feat that hasn’t occurred during a regular season game since the New York Giants did it against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 17, 1936.
After David Freese started the inning with a strikeout, Aybar got the unlikely rally started with a sharp grounder down the right-field line that rolled to the corner. Cron immediately followed with a towering drive to left-center that Michael Bourn couldn’t corral. After a Chris Iannetta sacrifice fly, Giavotella continued the triples parade with a rocket shot to left-center. Cowgill then concluded the explosion with a drive to right-center.
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If you watch the video, you’ll notice that all four plays were relatively close at third base. Cron, who’s by far the slowest of the group, just beat the relay throw with a slide. Giavotella probably would have been out if third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall handled the throw cleanly. And Cowgill seemed dead to rights as well if not for a wide throw.
As it stands, the aggressive running paid off for all four, and helped ignite an 11-5 victory. The Angels can also claim a rare place in baseball history, even if the triples will be wiped away in two weeks time. In fact, the Angels came incredibly close to equaling or surpassing two long-standing triples records.
On September 15, 1901, the Chicago White Sox hit five triples in the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers to set the single inning record.
On May 6, 1934, Carl Reynolds, Moose Solters, Rick Ferrell and Bucky Walters of the Boston Red Sox hit four consecutive triples against the Detroit Tigers, which is the only that’s ever happened.
The odds were strongly against the Angels, but they nearly did the unthinkable.
Speaking of which, let’s shift the focus over to Trevor Bauer and his unforgettable spring. As you might recall, if was just 10 days ago that Bauer was on the wrong side of another baseball rarity when he allowed back-to-back-to-back homers to Chicago Cubs phenoms Jorge Soler, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant. It’s like baseball Yahtzee, and Bauer is htting all of the biggest scoring categories right away.
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For most pitchers, that would be enough punishment to the rattle the confidence right out of them. However, Bauer seems to have a good sense of perspective and humor, and his manager Terry Francona usually knows what to say to keep things loose.
“He’s come so far,” said Francona. “We were kidding him that I sent [pitching coach Mickey Callaway] out to the mound just so [outfielders Michael Brantley and Michael Bourn] could rest. He gets it. The ball really did come out of his hand really well. He’s throwing all his pitches.”
It’s OK to joke now. For Bauer’s sake, though, here’s hoping the worst of it is out of his system before this starts counting against the his record.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
