Rocks turn season's first triple play

If you were scoring the Wilmington game Monday, you might have needed a bigger score sheet.

The Class A Advanced Blue Rocks turned an unusual triple play en route to a 9-2 win over the Carolina Mudcats.

With runners on the corners and no outs in the third inning, starting pitcher Leondy Perez struck out Giovanny Urshela. Catcher Kevin David threw to second baseman Luis Piterson, who tagged out Tony Wolters attempting a steal of second. Piterson fired the ball home as Tyler Holt attempted to take home on the rundown between first and second. David threw the ball to third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert, who ended the rundown by tagging out Holt.

For those scoring at home, it was a 2-4-2-5 triple play best described as a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out, throw-'em-out triple play. It is believed to be the third triple play in the Royals affiliate's history.

The play turned out to be a big one as the Blue Rocks rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to score nine runs over the next four innings. David finished 4-for-4 with a career-high four RBIs while Alex McLure drove in three.

Perez earned his first win, allowing a pair of unearned runs on four hits over five innings.