The Giants Turned a Slick Double Play That Hadn’t Been Seen in 60 Years

Anybody keeping score at Sunday’s Giants-Braves game got to write something in their scorebook few others have. 

San Francisco reliever Scott Alexander entered the game in a jam in the top of the fifth inning. After Alexander allowed a one-run single, Atlanta had runners on second and third with one out and the top of the order coming up. But Alexander was able to get out of the inning thanks to a strange, rare double play. 

Alexander got Ronald Acuña Jr. to hit a weak grounder between first and second. Giants first baseman J.D. Davis fielded it and flipped to Alexander, who had started to cover first. But second baseman Thairo Estrada was also covering the bag and got there sooner, so Alexander tossed it to him. Estrada then threw home to catcher Patrick Bailey, who applied the tag on Orlando Arcia. (Arcia was initially ruled safe but the Giants successfully challenged the call.)

What a 3-1-4-2 double play! pic.twitter.com/42obkiryXH

— MLB (@MLB) August 28, 2023

If you’re thinking that you haven’t ever seen a play like that before, you’re right. It was the first 3-1-4-2 double play in the major leagues since at least 1961, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. 

It was a fun play for the fans, but a stressful one for those on the field. 

“A lot of not good thoughts were running through my head during the whole play,” Bailey told reporters after the game.