Nats turn their 1st triple play at Nationals Park against Mets

WASHINGTON -- The Nationals turned their first triple play at home in team history (2005-present) in their 5-4 walk-off win over the Mets on Friday at Nationals Park.

It was the second triple play of the season, joining the Rockies’ triple play on April 5 against the Athletics.

Washington right-hander Jake Irvin was facing New York designated hitter Jesse Winker with Mark Vientos on first and Brandon Nimmo on second base. Winker lined to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who caught the ball near the ground.

Both runners, though, took off to advance without tagging up.

Lowe tossed the ball to shortstop CJ Abrams covering second base, who made the second out and tagged Vientos. Abrams then threw the ball back to Lowe at first base, where the umpire called the third out. The play was originally ruled a 3-6-3 triple play, but was later changed by the official scorer to a 3-6 triple play.

Winker and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza took the field to ask the umpires to get together to discuss what they each saw, but they refused.

“They say that if somebody would have saw it, somebody would have just gone to [first-base umpire Alfonso Márquez],” Mendoza said. “And that was my frustration there. We all saw it in the dugout. … It's a tough call for the umpire at first base, because he's right behind it. But there's three more guys there -- somebody should be able to make that call.”

Replay review rules state, “An umpire's decision whether a fielder caught a fly ball or a line drive in flight in the outfield before it hit the ground is reviewable, but fly balls or line drives fielded by a defensive player in the infield are not eligible for review.”

It was the Nationals’ third triple play in team history (2005-present). The previous triple plays were July 29, 2016, at San Francisco and May 20, 2022, at Milwaukee.

The Mets had not had a triple play turned against them since June 10, 2010, against the Padres.

Here’s what the players and managers involved had to say:

Abrams: "I was covering the base just in case [Lowe had caught it]. I thought he caught it and he threw it to me, so I just tagged the runner, threw it to him, did everything, triple play."

Irvin: "I was late getting over, so we were screwed if that ball hit the ground. I actually didn't really know what was happening because it just all happened so quick. But I heard Nate yell, 'I got it, give me that!' and figured that he had caught the ball, and the rest is history."

Lowe: "I stuffed the ball right there. I thought my thumb was underneath it. They didn't think so. So I went to second first and got the ball back. And it held. … I treated it like I caught it. So I figured that everybody was moving and we had a better play at second base first, because we had all day to get back to first. So that's three outs. … [There was] a little confusion, but some excitement. You don't really see three outs on one play all that often, but it was pretty cool."

Nimmo: “You're just trying to make a call on whether you see some dirt or not, because it's a really close play. And I thought I saw a little skip before the glove, so I decided to go. But you're also in no-man's land when it's hit hard at them like that and it's a close play on the ground. … I do wish it could be reviewed. I wish that all catches could be reviewed. I get it's in the infield, but that play is happening in front of the first-base umpire, where he really doesn't have a great read on it. … I really do wish that those could be reviewed regardless. It really would make things simpler.”

Vientos: “I messed up on that play. I should have froze on that play and went back to first base. But if you see the video, it did hit the dirt. But I did mess up with my play. That was bad baserunning by me. … I was going because I just saw a ball coming at me really fast. My first reaction was to go to second base.”

Nationals manager Dave Martinez: "I hoped that he caught it. We got out of it, it was awesome. … From my view, it looked like he caught it and we started screaming, 'Hey! Throw it to second! Throw it back! Throw it back to first!' And then they sat there -- the umpires -- they were all going, 'Out, out.' I said, 'OK,' and then they're all standing there and I said, 'Get off the field. Come on. Triple play.'”

Mendoza: “It's a line drive in the infield. It's not reviewable. Frustrating, obviously, because we all saw what happened. And I'm not blaming Alfonso, because he's the one behind the play. But I think the other three -- somebody's got to see that play. Just a tough break for us there. … That a play like that with so much impact, not only in that inning, but in the game -- first and second, nobody out -- and before you know it, you’re out of the inning and there's nothing you could do about it.”