Royals turned one of the rarest double plays in Major League Baseball history
Seeing a 1-5-3 double play is a rarity, but the Royals’ version of that twin killing on Sunday may have been a first in Major League Baseball history.
The White Sox had a runner at first with one out at Kauffman Stadium when Eloy Jimenez lined a pitch up the middle. Royals pitcher Jakob Junis stuck his foot out and deflected the ball in the air right to third baseman Maikel Franco, who caught it.
With the runner on first base thinking the ball hit the ground, Franco tossed the ball to first to get the force out and an unsual 1-5-3 double play.
“Looking back on it was pretty dumb, honestly,” Junis said. “The shift was working perfectly right where he hit it, but it was just one of those things where I reacted and I don’t know if I’ve ever reacted by putting my foot out like that but I kicked it up perfectly and got the double play out of it.
“Pretty cool play, all and all, but not the smartest one.”
Here is the play:
I tried to find another example of this type of double play but came up empty.
The Pirates had a similar play last year, but Pittsburgh got a force out at third base instead of the fielder catching the ball off the deflection.
