'You don't see that play often': How the Pirates turned a rare 5-4-6 double play against Marlins

The Pittsburgh Pirates were clinging to a two-run lead with runners on first and second base with no outs in the fifth inning when Paul Skenes threw a 2-2 sinker low and away to Connor Norby, having no idea that the resulting bouncer would produce a rare double play.

How the Pirates turned a 5-4-6 double play Monday night against the Miami Marlins was the product of three second-year infielders relying on their instincts to make the right reads and throws in perfect timing to snuff out a scoring threat on the way to a 3-1 win at PNC Park.

“I’ve never seen a double play like that,” Skenes said. “That was pretty sweet. That was just a really good baseball play. Knowing where to be at the right time, knowing what to do, it helped me out a ton. Executing that pitch and then to get the help like that was awesome.”

What a fantastic heads-up play by the Pirates infield to create a double play pic.twitter.com/Lwotkne6iq

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) September 10, 2024

Third baseman Jared Triolo ranged to his left, cutting in front of shortstop Alika Williams to field the bouncer. When Triolo saw Nick Fortes stopped between the base, he knew there wasn’t time to tag him out and turn two.

“As soon as ‘Tri’ hesitates and he doesn’t give it up, he’s got to take at least two hard steps back to get him to move back,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said, “because we know we’re going to get the force.”

Triolo read that Fortes had stopped his momentum, so he took several short steps before releasing a throw to second base to force out Xavier Edwards. Then it was up to second baseman Nick Gonzales to “decide what to do with it after that.”

Using his internal clock, Gonzales knew that it would require a quick turn and that he didn’t have time to throw Norby out at first. Gonzales had practiced covering second base for the throw from third enough times to know to get to the “positive” side of the bag so he would be in position to throw out the lead runner at third.

“We kind of had a little bit of a learning curve when the bases got bigger,” Gonzales said of MLB expanding the bases from 15 inches to 18 inches square before the 2023 season. “With the smaller base, I can stand on the back and step over it pretty easily. But now, with the bigger base, you’ve got to get in front because you can trip over it if you’re behind trying to step over it. It puts you in an awkward position because it’s not a half-step anymore.”

Then came the pivotal point of the double play. When Triolo fielded the ball, Williams instinctively wheeled toward third to cover the open base. He was ready and waiting when Gonzales caught Triolo’s throw.

“As soon as I saw Jared stop the runner coming to third, I was like, ‘I’ve got to get to third. No one’s there,’” Williams said. “I got to third as quick as I could and it worked out. It got to me and finished the play. As an infielder, you’re always trying to cover an open base, and that’s what I was thinking. Get to the open base and maybe the ball will get to you.”

Gonzales didn’t hesitate, sidestepping Edwards’ breakup slide and whipping it to Williams to beat Fortes’ head-first slide into third for an easy tag. Sounds easy enough, but Gonzales called Williams covering third the key to the Pirates turning two.

“It would be real easy for Alika to hang out and think, ‘This play is not going to me. I can just stand back,’” Gonzales said. “He didn’t. He ran to third and got there and was able to give me a good target so I was able to make a good throw.”

Once third base umpire Nestor Ceja signaled that Fortes was out, Skenes immediately pointed to Gonzales for what Pirates broadcaster Greg Brown called a “head’s-up play” that left their manager stunned.

“I still don’t know if we turn it with as hard as it was,” Shelton said, “so it ended up being a really good play.”

Skenes said he must have thanked Gonzales, Triolo and Williams five or six times for turning the double play.

“He was fired up. He was like, ‘Heck yeah, guys!’” Williams said. “Anytime you can get two for your pitcher, it’s big. They really appreciate that. It was big to get out of a jam like that. It was awesome. I’ve never been part of a play like that before. It was cool.”

Just how rare is a 5-4-6 double play? Per Elias Sports Bureau, it had been two years since such a ground into double play had been turned in an MLB game. Coincidentally, that one also was pulled off by the Pirates, in the ninth inning of a 6-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 10, 2022 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

On that play, Carson Kelly hit a sharp grounder that third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes fielded and threw to Rodolfo Castro at second base to force out Sergio Alcantara, and Castro threw to shortstop Kevin Newman covering third. Newman had to chase Emmanuel Rivera all the way back to second base before tagging him out.

This time, the Pirates credited Gonzales for making a high-IQ play. It’s not the first time he’s been in the middle of an unusual double play. Last year, as a rookie, Gonzales helped turn a 9-2-4-2 double play against the Philadelphia Phillies that started with Henry Davis catching Trea Turner’s fly to right and throwing a laser home, where catcher Endy Rodriguez fired it second in an attempt to pick off Alec Bohm — only to see Gonzales throw out Bryce Harper breaking for the plate.

“The 9-2-4-2,” Shelton said, “was one of the weirder ones I’ve ever seen.”

The 5-4-6 was one Gonzales watched in amazement in the moment, then again when he studied video of the play after the game.

“I went back and watched it, and it was good,” Gonzales said. “The play is just developing right in front of me. Just being real smooth out there and trying to slow things down and not try to do too much and not be too quick on double plays has enabled me to see the play develop in front of my eyes.”

A day later, Williams was still smiling. He couldn’t believe the Pirates pulled it off with such success.

“It was awesome,” Williams said. “A 5-4-6 double play? You don’t see that play often. I don’t think I’ve ever turned one of those before, so it was fun to be a part of.”