April 29, 2007: Troy Tulowitzki’s unassisted triple play and Matt Holliday’s walk-off homer lead Rockies over Braves

On April 29, 2007, in the seventh inning of a tie game with the Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies rookie shortstop Troy Tulowitzki turned a Chipper Jones line drive into an unassisted triple play,1 just the 13th by a National or American League player since the beginning of the twentieth century.2 In the 11th inning, another young star, left fielder Matt Holliday, sent the 31,445 fans at Coors Field home happy with his first career walk-off homer, giving the Rockies a 9-7 win.

In the previous nine seasons, the Rockies had finished no higher than fourth place in the National League West Division and only once had a winning record.3 With April winding down, Colorado had a losing record again, 9-15. Entering the Sunday afternoon game, the Rockies were in last place, five games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. They had lost the first two games of the series to Atlanta.

The Braves, who finished third in the NL East Division in 2006 after a string of 14 division crowns in 15 seasons,4 were in first place. Their league-best record of 15-8 gave them a half-game lead over the New York Mets in the division.

Aaron Cook (0-1) took the mound for the Rockies. The 28-year-old right-hander was Colorado’s Opening Day starter. He had thrown at least six innings in all five of his appearances and was coming off seven shutout innings against the New York Mets.

Opposing the Rockies was 23-year-old Kyle Davies. The right-hander, in his third season with the Braves, had no wins or losses and an ERA of 6.19 in three starts in 2007.

Atlanta had traded first baseman Adam LaRoche to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the offseason, and left-handed-batting Scott Thorman was part of the Braves’ first-base platoon.5 With two outs in the second, Thorman homered, his third round-tripper of the season, to put Atlanta on top, 1-0.

Colorado responded in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with a single and two walks. Willy Taveras, the Rockies’ leadoff hitter, put Colorado on top with a two-run single to right. With runners on the corners and one out, Tulowitzki came to the plate.

Near the end of spring training, Tulowitzki was hitting .342 with five doubles, and manager Clint Hurdle named the 22-year-old the starting shortstop over incumbent Clint Barmes.6 Tulowitzki, Colorado’s first-round draft pick (seventh overall) in 2005, out of Cal State-Long Beach, called being the Opening Day shortstop “a dream come true.”7

The regular season, however, had been a struggle offensively. Going into this series, he was hitting .185. A 2-for-5 performance in Saturday’s game nudged his average over .200. Tulowitzki continued his offensive turnaround with a two-run triple, and the Rockies led 4-1.

In the fourth, Thorman cut the lead to two by singling in Andruw Jones, who had doubled. The Rockies got that run back in the fifth when right fielder Brad Hawpe hit his first home run of the season,8 making the score 5-2.

The Braves pulled even in the sixth. Chipper Jones led off with a single. Jeff Francoeur sent him to third with a double to deep right. Thorman made it a four-RBI day with a single to center, scoring Jones and Francoeur. Brayan Peña’s single, the Braves’ fourth hit of the inning, sent Thorman to third. Ryan Langerhans9 tied the game, 5-5, with a sacrifice fly on a lineout to center.

After Cook was removed for a pinch-hitter in the sixth, Hurdle called on Zach McClellan to pitch the seventh. The rookie right-hander was making his sixth major-league appearance in what turned out to be a 12-game career. He had given up three runs in his six innings.

Braves leadoff hitter Kelly Johnson lined a single to center. Shortstop Édgar Rentería advanced Johnson to second with a single through the hole into left.

With a full count on Chipper Jones, Braves manager Bobby Cox started the runners. Jones lined the ball right at Tulowitzki. Johnson was on his way to third as Tulowitzki ran to second. Keeping his eye on the runner from first coming toward him, Tulowitzki stutter-stepped at the bag and reached out to tag Rentería, who made little effort to avoid the tag.

Tulowitzki then went back to tag second again – although second-base umpire Kerwin Danley had already called Johnson out. Tulowitzki superfluously threw the ball to Todd Helton at first base,10 already having completed the first unassisted triple play since shortstop Rafael Furcal turned one for the Braves against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 10, 2003.

As he ran off the field, Helton, following common practice, tossed the ball into the stands, where it was caught by Steffan Tubbs, a morning show radio host at KOA-AM in Denver. Tubbs claimed he had no intention of holding the ball for ransom. He would give it back to Tulowitzki for whatever the shortstop thought was a fair trade11 – a trade that took place two weeks later.12

With Manny Corpas pitching for the Rockies in the eighth, the Colorado defense initially robbed the Braves again, but a defensive miscue then gave Atlanta the lead. After a leadoff bloop single by Andruw Jones, Francoeur doubled to right-center field. Jones was gunned down at home with Tulowitzki relaying Taveras’s throw to catcher Chris Iannetta. Thorman, who already had three hits and four RBIs, was intentionally walked. Third baseman Garrett Atkins couldn’t handle Peña’s hard-hit groundball and Francoeur scored an unearned run, putting the Braves up, 6-5.

Atlanta added to its lead in the ninth off the Rockies’ fourth pitcher of the day, Tom Martin. Johnson tripled with one out and scored on Rentería’s infield single. Rentería stole second and advanced to third on a groundout but was left there when Francoeur popped out.

Trailing 7-5, Colorado faced closer Bob Wickman. The 38-year-old right-hander was in his 15th season. After coming to the Braves in a trade the previous summer,13 he recorded 18 saves and a 1.04 ERA. This was Wickman’s 13th appearance in 2007. He had six saves and hadn’t allowed an earned run until his most recent outing, in the first game of the series, when he gave up a hit, two walks, and a bases-clearing double.

Control was an issue for Wickman again. He loaded the bases on walks to Taveras, Tulowitzki, and Helton. With one out, Holliday, who began the day batting an NL-best .398 but was 0-for-4 with two double plays to this point, beat out a groundball to short that scored Taveras and kept the bases loaded. Hawpe tied the game, 7-7, when his weak grounder to second scored Tulowitzki. Wickman filled the bases again when he hit Iannetta, and Cox removed him.

Reliever Tyler Yates sent the game to extra innings with help from Francoeur. Barmes, who entered the game at second base in the top of the inning, hit a line drive into the gap in right. A diving catch by Francoeur robbed Barmes of a game-winning hit.

Thorman led off the 10th with a deep fly to right-center that bounced over the wall for a double. It was his fourth hit, raising his average to .292.14 But that scoring chance ended when Thorman was doubled off second on Peña’s lineout. Neither team threatened again until the bottom of the 11th.

Steve Colyer, returning to the majors in spring 2007 after a two-season absence, was the Braves’ seventh pitcher of the game, entering in the bottom of the 10th. He struck out Atkins and walked Helton. It was Helton’s fifth walk of the game and sixth time on base.15 That brought up Holliday, who had never faced Colyer. With the count 2-and-2, Holliday blasted a home run to center, giving the Rockies a 9-7 victory.16

Tulowitzki continued to play stellar defense,17 and his offense steadily improved. He finished the season with a .291 average, 24 home runs, 99 RBIs, the runner-up spot in NL Rookie of the Year voting,18 and a great story to tell.

“It’s amazing. It just kind of fell in my lap,” Tulowitzki said of his triple play.19 “Hopefully I’ll tell my children someday that it’s not something too many people have done. That’s kind of cool.”20

An incredible finish to the regular season – winning 13 of their last 14 games – moved the Rockies into a second-place tie with the San Diego Padres, whom they beat in a wild-card tiebreaker game.21 After dominating the NL playoffs,22 Colorado was swept by the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.23 Holliday ended the season with 36 home runs and an NL-leading .340 average. He was second in NL MVP voting.24

• Related link: Check out the SABR Triple Plays Database for details on all major-league triple plays since 1876

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Troy Olszewski and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Photo credit: Troy Tulowitzki, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Stathead.com, Retrosheet.org, and the WTBS-TV broadcast of Atlanta Braves at Colorado Rockies, April 29, 2007.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/COL/COL200704290.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2007/B04290COL2007.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JagwB3xuruA

Notes

1 Chipper Jones was the batter the previous time the Braves hit into a triple play, June 15, 1996, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the first inning of that game, he popped into a 6-4-3 triple play.

2 Providence Grays center fielder Paul Hines may also have turned an unassisted triple play. On May 8, 1878, he was involved in a triple play. Some accounts of the play give him credit for all three putouts, and others say two putouts and an assist. Major League Baseball does not recognize the play as unassisted, but MLB Historian John Thorn believes the triple play was unassisted according to the rules at that time.

3 In 2000 the Rockies’ record was 82-80.

4 The Braves won the NL West Division in three straight seasons from 1991 through 1993. They were realigned to the NL East in 1994, and they were in second place behind the Montreal Expos when a players strike ended the season in August. Atlanta went on to win the NL East in every season from 1995 through 2005.

5 Craig Wilson was the right-handed-batting member of the platoon until he was released on May 17.

6 Associated Press, “Tulowitzki Earns Start as Rockies’ Shortstop,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, March 24, 2007: D2.

7 “Tulowitzki Earns Start as Rockies’ Shortstop.”

8 Hawpe’s first home run of the season came in his 77th at-bat. He went on to hit a career-high 29 home runs in 2007.

9 After the game, Langerhans was called into manager Bobby Cox’s office and was told he’d been traded to Oakland. He was traded for future considerations. David O’Brien, “Langerhans Dealt to Oakland,” Atlanta Constitution, April 30, 2007: D5.

10 When asked about his extra throw to Helton at first base, Tulowitzki said, “I was trying to be the first person ever to get about five outs.” Jim McLennan, “AZ 5, Giants 4 – Turnabout’s fair play,” AZ Snake Pit, April 30, 2007, https://www.azsnakepit.com/2007/4/30/115518/384.

11 Pat Graham of the Associated Press felt the National Baseball Hall of Fame wouldn’t want the ball because it couldn’t be verified as authentic, but the shortstop’s jersey and hat were sent to Cooperstown. Pat Graham, Associated Press, “Radio Station Host Claims to Have Tulowitzki Prized Triple-Play Ball,” St. Joseph (Missouri) News-Press, May 3, 2007: C4. In a recent email, Susan MacKay, director of collections at the Hall of Fame, confirmed that as of 2025, Tulowitzki’s hat and jersey were part of the permanent collection, but they do not have the ball.

12 “Following his KOA-850 radio show Friday morning, [May 11, 2007, radio host Steffan] Tubbs handed over the ball to Tulowitzki during an on-air exchange, then signed an affidavit verifying its validity. Tulowitzki signed a bat for Tubbs.” Arnie Stapleton (Associated Press), “Tulowitzki Retrieves Baseball from His Unassisted Triple Play,” Atlanta Constitution, May 13, 2007: F4.

13 Wickman was obtained by the Braves in a trade with Cleveland on July 20, 2006, for Max Ramírez.

14 The .292 average was Thorman’s high point for the season, and he finished the year with a .216 mark.

15 Helton became the 29th player in the AL or NL since 1900 to have five walks and at least one hit. As of the end of the 2024 season, the record of six walks in a game is shared by four players: Jimmie Foxx, June 16, 1938; Andre Thornton, May 2, 1984; Jeff Bagwell, August 20, 1999; and Bryce Harper, May 8, 2016.

16 Holliday had two other walk-off homers in his career. On September 18, 2009, playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, he homered off Aaron Heilman of the Chicago Cubs. And on April 28, 2017, playing for the New York Yankees, he homered off Jayson Aquino of the Baltimore Orioles.

17 Drew Creasman, “The 2007 Colorado Rockies Were Not a Fluke,” Purple Row, July 23, 2015, https://www.purplerow.com/2015/7/23/9026261/colorado-rockies-2007-not-a-fluke.

18 Tulowitzki had 15 first-place ROY votes but was edged out by Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun for the award.

19 Associated Press, “Line Drive Turns into Rare Solo Triple Play,” Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colorado), April 30, 2007: 4B.

20 Stapleton, “Tulowitzki Retrieves Baseball from His Unassisted Triple Play.”

21 The Rockies hosted the Padres for one game to see who would advance to the playoffs. In a back-and-forth game, the score was tied after nine. After three scoreless extra innings, the Padres scored two in the 13th. Against Trevor Hoffman, the Rockies rallied with two doubles (one by Tulowitzki) and a triple (by Holliday). Holliday scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly on a close play at the plate. It is still debated whether Holliday touched the plate on his head-first slide. (For analysis of the play, see Chris Landers, “Did Matt Holliday Actually Touch Home Plate?” MLB.com, April 30, 2020, https://www.mlb.com/news/did-matt-holliday-touch-home-plate.)

22 The Rockies swept the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS and then swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS.

23 As of 2024, the Rockies have never won a World Series, with 2007 being their only appearance.

24 Holliday received 11 first-place MVP votes but finished second to Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins.