On June 15, 1996, the Los Angeles Dodgers opened up their matchup with the Atlanta Braves by turning a triple play in the first inning of their 6-2 victory.
After Hideo Nomo allowed a leadoff single to Marquis Grissom, he proceeded to walk Mark Lemke. With two on and nobody out, Chipper Jones had a shot to kick off the scoring for the Braves.
On a full count, Jones hit a flare to short left field that was caught by Juan Castro on the run from his shortstop position. Castro then turned and fired to Delino Deshields to double off Grissom, and a throw then was made to Eric Karros to complete the triple play by getting Lemke.
This triple play marked the first in 47 years for the Dodgers, and their first since moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958. Their next one would occur just two years later at Dodger Stadium on June 13, 1998, against the Colorado Rockies.
That one was converted by Darren Dreifort, Jose Vizcaino, Eric Young and Bobby Bonilla.
The initial drought lasted from 1949 until 1996.
Dodgers triple play history
Prior to moving to L.A., the Dodgers turned 19 triple plays while in Brooklyn. However since then, they haven’t been on the plus side of one since 2012.
Since turning a triple play against the Rockies in 1998, the Dodgers most recent came on April 15, 2012, in a matchup with the San Diego Padres.
But in 2014, they were on the unfortunate end of having two triple plays turned on them against the Cleveland Indians and New York Mets.
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