Baltimore Orioles execute a weird triple play on Boston Red Sox

The Baltimore Orioles are able to pull off a very real but very strange triple play in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox.

The Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox are American League East division rivals. They will play each other at least 19 times this season. In one of their 19 meetings this season, something very strange happened in the bottom of the eighth inning when Boston was at the plate on Tuesday night.

Boston was already leading Baltimore 5-2 when outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. would pop a fly ball off Orioles reliever Zach Britton into shallow outfield behind shortstop. Baltimore shortstop J.J. Hardy misjudged the soft fly ball, and then things got real interesting.

Boston already had two runners on base: first baseman Mitch Moreland on second and second baseman Dustin Pedroia on first. Hardy picked up the pop up he misjudged and fired it to second base.

Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop tagged Moreland near the second base bag, then fired it to first baseman Chris Davis. Davis then tagged Pedroia. The umpires at Fenway Park didn’t call an infield fly rule since the ball was hit well into the outfield, and Baltimore successfully executed a triple play on Boston.

Obviously both Boston manager John Farrell and Baltimore skipper Buck Showalter came out to talk to the umpiring crew. Was it a triple play though?

Bob Costas and John Smoltz talked it through in the booth for the MLB Network. Had an infield fly rule been called, Bradley would have been out automatically. Moreland and Pedroia would have had the opportunity to advance at their own peril.

Since both Red Sox base runners were tagged off the bag anyway, yes, Baltimore did successfully execute a 6-4-3 triple play. Expect MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to talk to this crew after the game about why they didn’t call an infield fly.

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Frankly, they probably shouldn’t have. Kids, when in doubt about an infield fly rule, just stay on the bag and don’t be like Moreland or Pedroia. Boston would still win at home 5-2, but that was a dumb bottom of the eighth for the Red Sox.