Multiple three-base hits in one game aren’t that unusual for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Many consider the triple to be the most exciting play in baseball as the ball is often shot into the gap before bouncing away from the scurrying fielders while the hitter sprints around the bags.
So it was on Friday night as the St. Louis Cardinals registered three-base hits in consecutive innings against the visiting Angels and former teammate Joel Pineiro. They were struck by Colby Rasmus and Felipe Lopez (pictured) in the first two frames, plating a total of three runs in what turned out to be a series-opening win.
With just seven triples as a team this season, I would have thought that two triples in any one game would be rare for the Cardinals, let alone in two straight innings. Not so.
On August 31, 2005 at Florida, Hector Luna and Albert Pujols tripled in consecutive innings. As recently as September 26, 2008, not only did the team have two in one inning, they had three triples in the same game. Two were by Adam Kennedy with one from pitcher Braden Looper.
In the Tony La Russa years in St. Louis, since 1996, the team has had 35 two-triple games, including at least one such contest every season – except for 2009.
The Cardinals’ busiest triple day during that time was on April 27, 2003, when the team collected four three-base hits, the only game with that many since La Russa became manager.
St. Louis Cardinals, multiple triples, game, 2006-current
| Date | Opp | Name | Inn | Out | BI | Name | Inn | Out | BI | Name | Inn | Out | BI | Name | Inn | Out | BI |
| 5/21/2010 | ANA | Colby Rasmus | b 1 | 2 | 2 | Felipe Lopez | b 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 9/26/2008 | CIN | Adam Kennedy | b 6 | 0 | 0 | Braden Looper | b 6 | 1 | 1 | Adam Kennedy | b 8 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 9/25/2008 | ARI | Cesar Izturis | b 4 | 1 | 1 | Adam Kennedy | b 7 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 9/9/2007 | @ARI | Miguel Cairo | t 3 | 0 | 2 | Skip Schumaker | t 6 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| 9/16/2006 | SFG | Aaron Miles | b 1 | 0 | 0 | Aaron Miles | b 4 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| 7/18/2006 | ATL | John Rodriguez | b 6 | 2 | 2 | Scott Spiezio | b 6 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 8/31/2005 | @FLA | Hector Luna | t 4 | 1 | 0 | Albert Pujols | t 5 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 4/24/2005 | HOU | Scott Rolen | b 1 | 2 | 0 | Reggie Sanders | b 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 8/31/2004 | SDP | Scott Rolen | b 5 | 0 | 1 | Reggie Sanders | b 7 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 7/30/2004 | @SFG | Tony Womack | t 6 | 1 | 0 | Jim Edmonds | t 6 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| 9/6/2003 | CIN | Eli Marrero | b 1 | 2 | 2 | Bo Hart | b 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 8/1/2003 | @NYM | Kerry Robinson | t 8 | 0 | 1 | Scott Rolen | t 9 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 6/19/2003 | @MIL | J.D. Drew | t 5 | 1 | 2 | Bo Hart | t 5 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| 6/4/2003 | TOR | Tino Martinez | b 6 | 0 | 0 | Mike Matheny | b 6 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 4/27/2003 | @FLA | J.D. Drew | t 1 | 1 | 0 | Tino Martinez | t 4 | 1 | 0 | Eli Marrero | t 9 | 1 | 2 | Miguel Cairo | t17 | 0 | 0 |
| 4/24/2003 | @ATL | Miguel Cairo | t 6 | 1 | 1 | Fernando Vina | t 7 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 7/30/2002 | @FLA | Albert Pujols | t 8 | 1 | 0 | Scott Rolen | t 8 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 4/15/2002 | @ARI | Fernando Vina | t 1 | 0 | 0 | J.D. Drew | t 5 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 6/4/2001 | CIN | Placido Polanco | b 5 | 1 | 1 | Fernando Vina | b 7 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 4/26/2001 | MON | Fernando Vina | b 5 | 0 | 0 | Albert Pujols | b 5 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| 4/6/2001 | @ARI | Ray Lankford | t 5 | 1 | 3 | Fernando Vina | t 7 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| 8/28/2000 | @FLA | Mike Matheny | t 5 | 1 | 1 | Will Clark | t 8 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 8/23/2000 | PIT | Fernando Vina | b 3 | 2 | 0 | Ray Lankford | b 4 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 5/21/2000 | @PIT | Eli Marrero | t 6 | 0 | 0 | Placido Polanco | t 8 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 4/8/2000 | MIL | Fernando Vina | b 2 | 1 | 1 | Fernando Vina | b 4 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 6/19/1999 | NYM | Joe McEwing | b 1 | 0 | 0 | Darren Bragg | b 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 5/1/1999 | @MON | Shawon Dunston | t 3 | 2 | 2 | J.D. Drew | t 5 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| 4/16/1999 | @HOU | Eric Davis | t 4 | 0 | 1 | Eli Marrero | t 4 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 4/27/1998 | MON | Brian Jordan | b 6 | 2 | 0 | Delino DeShields | b 7 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||
| 8/29/1997 | @KCR | Gary Gaetti | t 2 | 0 | 0 | Delino DeShields | t 8 | 1 | 1 | Willie McGee | t 8 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 6/24/1997 | CHC | Ron Gant | b 4 | 1 | 2 | Delino DeShields | b 5 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 4/30/1997 | FLA | Delino DeShields | b 5 | 0 | 0 | Willie McGee | b 5 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| 4/15/1997 | @FLA | Dmitri Young | t 3 | 2 | 1 | Tom Lampkin | t 4 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 9/17/1996 | CHC | Ozzie Smith | b 8 | 1 | 1 | Ray Lankford | b 8 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 8/8/1996 | SFG | Gary Gaetti | b 4 | 1 | 0 | Brian Jordan | b 8 | 2 | 0 |
Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for the above table.
Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.
Count me in agreement on the excitement of the triple.
The game is changing in a way that puts people to sleep, with all the walks, strikeouts, trips to the mound/pitching changes, constant adjusting of batting gloves and lack of action produced by the bat hitting the ball.
Those double triples Friday night were most exciting even tho my connection was via Gameday (without sound).
I love triples, and agree with the excitement they engender, but I’d rate the suicide squeeze as even more exciting, as it’s obviously a do-or-die play.
Walk-off basehits off the wall to win games and put the team in first place are nice, too.