It happened so fast, Eric Bruntlett needed a few moments before he realized he had just ended a game with an unassisted triple play.
It's the fourth time since 1950 a team has had an inside-the-park homerun and a triple play. It's the second time in history an unassisted triple play ended a game. The first time was by the Tigers in 1927.
Bruntlett became the second player in major league history to get the final three outs on his own, accomplishing the feat Sunday to preserve the Philadelphia Phillies 9-7 victory over the New York Mets.
"I didn't know how to react. I didn't know what to do," Bruntlett said. "The ninth inning was wild. The whole game it seemed was strange."
Indeed, it was a stunning end to a crazy game that included an inside-the-park homer after the ball got stuck under the outfield wall.
Bruntlett turned the 15th unassisted triple play in big league history -- the second that ended a game. Detroit Tigers first baseman Johnny Neun also turned the trick on May 31, 1927, completing a 1-0 victory over Cleveland, according to STATS LLC.
The amazing final sequence made a winner of Pedro Martinez in his return to New York and quashed a Mets rally against closer Brad Lidge.
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"We picked a good time," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.
With runners on first and second in the ninth inning and a run already in, Jeff Francoeur hit a line drive up the middle that appeared headed toward center field for a single. But both runners were stealing on the 2-2 pitch, so Bruntlett was in perfect position as he moved over to cover second base.
He caught the liner easily, stepped on second to double up Luis Castillo and then turned to tag Daniel Murphy for the third out. Murphy tried to backpedal away from Bruntlett, but had nowhere to go.
"Frenchy hit it on the screws," Murphy said. "It happened so fast there was nothing I could do."
After bolting out of the box, a frustrated Francoeur stopped in his tracks and threw down his helmet with both hands.
"What a bizarre ending. I don't know what happened there. The game's over, so I'm happy with that," Lidge said. "That was pretty exciting. That's definitely not the way you draw it up."
The Phillies raced onto the field to congratulate Bruntlett after his rare play secured Lidge's 25th save in 33 chances.
It was the first unassisted triple play since Cleveland second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned one in the fifth inning on May 12, 2008, against Toronto.
