Todd Frazier's first home at-bat with Yankees turns into run-scoring triple play

ByABC News
July 25, 2017, 9:05 PM

— -- Todd Frazier?will always remember his first home at-bat as a member of the New York Yankees.?

And not for all good reasons.?

Frazier, acquired by the Yankees last week as part of a deal with the Chicago White Sox, came up with the bases loaded in the second inning Tuesday night and proceeded to bounce into a triple play against the Cincinnati Reds.

With rookie Reds starter Luis Castillo on the mound at Yankee Stadium, Matt Holliday singled to right, Didi Gregorius singled to right and Chase Headley singled to left to load the bases in the second.

Frazier, batting seventh, hit a hard grounder up the middle. Reds shortstop Jose Peraza fielded it, stepped on second and threw to first. Gregorius, who had been on second base, held up when the ball was hit in case it was caught. He was late to advance, and first baseman Joey Votto's throw across the diamond caught him in a rundown. Gregorius was called out for running wide of the baseline while trying to avoid a tag.

It went down as a 6-3-5-6 triple play and was the second of that variety in Major League Baseball history. The other was turned by the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1970.

It also marked the first triple play turned by Cincinnati since 1995 and the first against the Yankees since 2011.

"I might've set a record,'' Frazier said afterward. "Got to be a record.''

Holliday did score on the play to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead in an eventual 4-2 win.

The last time a run scored on a triple play was in 2006.

"Can laugh about it now," Frazier said. "At the time, I was pretty upset. It was just unbelievable. Hopefully, that doesn't ever happen again.''

Back in the Bronx for the first time since the All-Star break, the Yankees brought along Frazier and relievers David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle, all acquired last week in a trade with the White Sox.

Frazier made the two-hour drive from his hometown of Toms River near the Jersey Shore, and he had his own personal rooting section in tow.

Once the game started,?Frazier got a welcoming introduction from the public-address announcer, a shoutout from the Bleacher Creatures and a warm ovation from his new fans.

Then, with a bunch of family members and friends packed in the stands, he stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded, hoping to do something really special.

Instead, the bizarre ensued.?

Yankees manager Joe Girardi could only hang his head on the dugout railing after the sequence.

"A strange play,'' he said.

Castillo, making just his seventh MLB appearance, was left with a memory, despite taking the loss.

"I will never forget that. Triple play, bases loaded. That's amazing," he said. "If double play's the best friend of a pitcher, what about a triple play?"

Information from ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press was used in this report.