Minnesota Twins turn second triple play in three weeks for Martin Perez

Aug. 7 (UPI) -- The Minnesota Twins turned their second triple play in about three weeks Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves.

The Twins achieved the feat in the top of the third inning with left-hander Martin Perez pitching. He was on the mound for each of the team's triple plays.

With the bases loaded, Braves catcher Tyler Flowers belted a sharp ground ball to Minnesota third baseman Miguel Sano. He stepped on third base and threw the ball to second baseman Jonathan Schoop, who fired a relay to first baseman C.J. Cron.

Before the triple play, the Braves scored three runs in the inning to boost their advantage to 6-0. The rare play prevented Atlanta from building a larger lead.

Perez also pitched July 22 against the New York Yankees when slugger Edwin Encarnacion grounded into a 5-4-3 triple play. Luis Arraez, Schoop and Sano, who was playing first base in that contest, turned the triple play.

Before this season, the Twins (70-44) hadn't turned a triple play since June 1, 2017. The MLB record for most triple plays in a single season is three, which last occurred in the 2016 campaign by the Chicago White Sox.

The Braves (68-48) defeated the Twins 11-7 to take the three-game series.