St. Petersburg, FL – The Tampa Bay Rays turned a crucial triple play during the sixth inning of Tuesday's game against the New York Yankees.
With the Yankees leading, 3-2, and nobody out with the bases full, catcher Russell Martin grounded a ball toward third base, tight to the line.
Evan Longoria grabbed the ball as he stepped on the bag to quickly record the first out, then fired to Ben Zobrist for the second. Zobrist's relay to Sean Rodriguez at first was in time to beat Martin, who slid in head-first, to complete the play and got the Rays out of the jam.
It also kept Tampa Bay in a pivotal game. Matt Joyce hit a three-run homer in the seventh to lift the Rays to a 5-3 win and keep them on top of the American League wild card chase.
After Boston edged Baltimore, 8-7, on Tuesday, the Rays and Red Sox remained tied for the wild card lead.
It was the third triple play in team history, first since September 2, 2006 against the Seattle Mariners at Tropicana Field.
This was also the first triple play the Yankees hit into since May 29, 2000 against Oakland.
