One day after coming back and defeating the Oakland Athletics at home, the New York Yankees were looking to pull off a series win Sunday afternoon against one of baseball’s best teams.
Holding a 2-1 lead heading into the ninth, All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman took to the bump for the Pinstripes. It did not start out swimmingly for the flame thrower. In fact, Chapman walked both Jed Lowrie and Tony Kemp to open up the frame.
Just when it looked like the A’s were going to pull off another late-game comeback, everything turned in favor of the New York Yankees. That included Chapman and Co. turning a triple-play off the bat of Oakland catcher Sean Murphy to end the game. It was a sight to behold.
To say that this is a rare accomplishment around the Major League Baseball world would be an understatement. The last time it happened was when the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets back in 2009. Prior to that, a game-ending triple play had not taken place in MLB since 1991. All said, this is just the 10th time it has ever happened.
By virtue of this win, the New York Yankees move to 38-33. They have now won five of six.