August 10, 2003: Rafael Furcal turns unassisted triple play, but Cardinals rally to beat Braves

Atlanta Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal’s defense had been maligned in the Atlanta press just six days earlier,1 but on August 10, 2003, in the fifth inning of a nationally televised game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Furcal leapt high to rob Cardinals pitcher Woody Williams of a run-scoring base hit before turning just the 13th unassisted triple play in National or American League history.2 Three innings after Furcal’s rare feat, however, back-to-back home runs by St. Louis’s Eduardo Pérez and Albert Pujols rallied the Cardinals to a 3-2 win.

The Braves and Cardinals were playing the rubber game of their three-game series in St. Louis in front of 39,320 fans, with many more watching on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Atlanta began the day with the best record in baseball, 76-40, and led the National League East Division by 12 games over the Philadelphia Phillies and Florida Marlins.

The 25-year-old Furcal was in his fourth season with Atlanta. The 2000 NL Rookie of the Year, he had been selected to play in his first All-Star Game a month earlier. He was a valuable leadoff hitter with 13 home runs, but his defense had been inconsistent. He had already committed 26 errors – the most among NL shortstops.3

The Cardinals, 60-56, were in a close race in the NL Central Division – two games behind the Houston Astros and a half-game ahead of the Chicago Cubs.4

Williams, the 36-year-old starting pitcher for the Cardinals, had been acquired in August 2001 in a trade with the San Diego Padres.5 He went 7-1 with the Cardinals down the stretch in 2001.

After an injury-plagued 2002 season that included two stints on the disabled list with upper-body muscle strains, the Cardinals re-signed Williams as a free agent.6 Their faith in him paid off as he was having his best season in the majors in 2003, including his first All-Star Game appearance.7 He took a 14-5 record and 3.48 ERA into his start against the Braves.

Williams was opposed by 23-year-old rookie Horacio Ramírez. The left-hander, a fifth-round draft choice in 1997, was 8-4 with a 4.27 ERA.

St. Louis opened the scoring with two outs in the bottom of the second, when catcher Mike Matheny homered to left, putting the Cardinals up 1-0.

In the third, the switch-hitting Furcal recorded the Braves’ second hit against Williams. Batting left-handed, he slapped a high fastball down the third-base line for a two-out double. He was stranded when Marcus Giles flied to right.

The Braves tied the game in the fourth when Gary Sheffield lined a home run to left, his 29th of the season and the 369th of his career.8 Two outs later, a Texas Leaguer out of the reach of second baseman Bo Hart and a walk gave the Braves a chance to take the lead. Vinny Castilla blooped a short fly ball to right, but Pérez made a diving catch to keep the score 1-1.9

The Braves threatened again in the fifth. With two outs, Giles grounded a single to center, and Sheffield lined his third hit of the game, putting runners on the corners. Chipper Jones walked to load the bases, but Williams struck out Andruw Jones to escape the jam.

Matheny led off the bottom of the fifth with a soft liner to center. A diving attempt by Jones was ruled a trap, giving Matheny his second hit of the game.

The next hitter, Orlando Palmeiro, was playing center field in place of All-Star Jim Edmonds, who was resting a sore shoulder.10

Palmeiro, a .269 hitter, squared to bunt. When the pitch came inside, Palmeiro pulled his bat back. The ball ticked off the mitt of catcher Javy Lopez and went to the backstop. Matheny headed to second, but home-plate umpire Gary Cederstrom sent him back to first, ruling that the pitch had glanced off Palmeiro’s bat, although replays showed no contact.

Following a mild argument by Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, Palmeiro bunted toward first. Ramirez got off the mound quickly and threw to second. Furcal, who was expecting the throw to go to first, arrived at the base late. Matheny was safe, and Palmeiro reached on the fielder’s choice.

Williams, a good-hitting pitcher with a .260 average, bunted the first pitch foul. With the count 1-and-1 and the Braves still expecting the bunt, La Russa switched to the hit-and-run. Williams, who was leading all NL pitchers in hits and RBIs, hit a soft liner headed for left field, but Furcal leapt and caught it.

Giles called for the ball at second, but later recounted, “We made eye contact, and I could tell from the look in his eye he wasn’t giving it up. It was pretty cool.”11

Furcal made the play himself, tagging second to retire Matheny, and then chasing down Palmeiro retreating to first. Furcal said, “It’s very exciting for me. You don’t see that kind of play every day.”12 It was the first unassisted triple play since Randy Velarde turned one for the Oakland Athletics against the New York Yankees on May 29, 2000.13

Defending his decision to hit-and-run, La Russa said, “I thought everything was working. It was the third pitch Woody had seen and he handles the bat great. That’s one of the risks.”14

With the game still tied 1-1, Furcal was back in the middle of things for the Braves in the top of the seventh. With one out he singled to right. Giles followed with a two-strike single to left, Furcal advancing to third.

Sheffield was already 3-for-3, including his fifth career home run against Williams.15 This time, his sacrifice fly to center put the Braves ahead, 2-1. Williams retired Chipper Jones with his 120th pitch and left the game having given up two runs on eight hits in seven innings.

Ramírez, still on the mound for the Braves in the bottom of the eighth, had given up only four hits when he faced Pérez with two outs. On a 1-and-1 pitch, the right-handed hitter drove Ramírez’s 90th pitch of the game into the Cardinals’ bullpen in right for a game-tying home run.

Pujols was up next, and Atlanta manager Bobby Cox brought in closer John Smoltz. Smoltz, one of the game’s top starters before missing the 2000 season after elbow surgery, had re-emerged as a reliever in 2001.16 His 55 saves in 2002 led the majors, and the 36-year-old righty took the mound in St. Louis with 42 saves and a 0.78 ERA in 2003.17 With no save opportunities the past week, Smoltz hadn’t pitched since earning his 42nd save eight days earlier against the Dodgers.

Pujols was a 13th-round pick in the 1999 draft, and at the age of 23 was in his third season with St. Louis. The 2001 Rookie of the Year and runner-up in MVP voting in 2002,18 he was hitting .370 with 30 homers and 100 RBIs.19

With the count 1-and-0, Pujols homered to the back of the bullpen in left, putting the Cardinals on top, 3-2, and extending his hitting streak to 24 games.20 It was only the second home run Smoltz had allowed all season.

Afterward Pujols said, “[Smoltz] didn’t want to go [2-and-0] there, I guess, and he just threw me a pitch down the middle I can handle. I don’t want to take a pitch down the middle against a guy like that. You’re talking about the best guy in the league, in both of the leagues.”21

The sudden lead change didn’t allow Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen enough time to get loose. Cal Eldred, who had pitched a scoreless eighth inning, returned to the mound to take his warm-up tosses before La Russa summoned Isringhausen to start the ninth.

Isringhausen retired the side in order, earning his 11th save as the Cardinals took the series-deciding game. St. Louis’s three solo home runs and good pitching had overcome Furcal’s unassisted triple play.22

The Braves won 101 games and the NL East crown by 10 games over the Marlins before losing to the Cubs in the Division Series.

The Cardinals missed the playoffs for the first time since 1999, finishing third in the NL Central Division, three games behind the Cubs and two behind the Astros.

Pujols was the 2003 batting champion, hitting .359 with 43 home runs and a league-leading 51 doubles. For the second consecutive season, he was the runner-up to Barry Bonds for the MVP Award.

Smoltz finished the season with 45 saves and a 1.12 ERA.23 After 44 more saves the next season, he returned to the starting rotation in 2005. In August of 2009, he was a late-season pickup by St. Louis,24 for whom he finished his career.

Furcal ended 2003 with a .292 batting average. Like Smoltz, he played for St. Louis late in his career,25 winning his only World Series with the Cardinals in 2011. In 2012 he was an All-Star under Cardinals manager Matheny, the baserunner Furcal had retired for the second out in his unassisted triple play nine years earlier.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Mike Huber and copy-edited by Len Levin. Thank you to John Fredland and Gary Belleville for their thoughts and suggestions.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for information including the play-by-play. A television broadcast of the game on ESPN posted on YouTube was also used.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200308100.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2003/B08100SLN2003.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZtJzkzJy0I

Notes

1 Jeff Schultz, “Braves Dropping the Ball on Defense,” Atlanta Constitution, August 4, 2003: C2.

2 Major League Baseball does not recognize the triple play that occurred on May 8, 1878, as unassisted, but MLB official historian John Thorn believes Paul Hines of the Providence Grays should be credited with an unassisted triple play. Including the Hines triple play, Furcal’s was the 13th unassisted triple play in the National or American League.

3 Schultz. While maligned for his error total, Furcal also led the league in assists in 2003.

4 The Cardinals were also fifth in the race for the one NL wild-card spot, four games behind Philadelphia and Florida.

5 The Cardinals sent outfielder Ray Lankford and cash to the Padres for Williams.

6 Joe Strauss, “Cards Strike Out at Cincy,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 30, 2002: D1.

7 Williams gave up two runs in his one inning of work in the game, which the American League won, 7-6.

8 Sheffield had an outstanding season in 2003, finishing with a .330 batting average, 39 home runs, and 132 RBIs. He finished third in the MVP voting behind Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols.

9 Pérez, who was in the 10th season of his 13-year big-league career in 2003, is the son of Hall of Famer Tony Pérez.

10 Edmonds originally suffered the injury in a game against Milwaukee when he ran into the wall while robbing Keith Ginter of an extra-base hit on June 17. Joe Strauss, “Shoulder Pain Again Leaves Edmonds Out of the Lineup,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 23, 2003: D5. He aggravated the injury during the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game. R.B. Fallstrom (Associated Press), “Edmonds Returns to Cardinals Lineup,” Alton (Illinois) Telegraph, August 6, 2003: D4. Edmonds entered the game in center field in a double switch in the eighth inning.

11Thomas Stinson, “HRs Trump Triple Play,” Atlanta Constitution, August 11, 2003: C1.

12 Glenn Kasses, “Braves’ Furcal Knew Unassisted Triple Play Was All His,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 11, 2003: D7.

13 Through the 2022 season, only three more unassisted triple plays have been turned – April 29, 2007, by Troy Tulowitzki; May 12, 2008, by Asdrubal Cabrera; and August 23, 2009, by Eric Bruntlett. Furcal’s unassisted triple play was also the second one turned by a member of the Braves organization. Ernie Padgett completed one when the Braves were based in Boston, October 6, 1923. Williams became the second pitcher to hit into an unassisted triple play. Clarence Mitchell, playing for Brooklyn, hit into an unassisted triple play on October 10, 1920, in Game Five of the World Series. Second baseman Bill Wambsganss made the play.

14 Associated Press, “Furcal Turns 12th Unassisted Triple Play Ever,” https://www.espn.com/mlb/story?id=1593632, August 10, 2003.

15 With his three hits, Sheffield was 10-for-27 (.370) lifetime against Williams. Thomas Stinson, “Unassisted Triple Play,” Atlanta Constitution, August 11, 2003: C1.

16 Smoltz was acquired by the Braves on August 12, 1987, from the Detroit Tigers for Doyle Alexander. Smoltz made his debut the next year as a 21-year-old and was immediately put in the starting rotation. After 12 seasons, 157 wins, four All-Star selections, and one Cy Young Award, Smoltz had Tommy John surgery and missed all of the 2000 season. Mike Axisa, “John Smoltz: The Hall of Fame Career Tommy John Surgery Couldn’t Derail,” CBS Sports, https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/John Smoltz: The Hall of Fame career Tommy John surgery couldn’t derail – CBSSports.com, July 26, 2015. After five starts when he returned in 2001 he was moved to the bullpen. He became the closer that August and revived his All-Star career.

17 Smoltz was close to meeting his preseason goal of 100 saves in his first two full years as closer. David O’Brien, “Smoltz Sets Higher Goals,” Atlanta Constitution, August 2, 2003: H6.

18 Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants was the unanimous choice as NL MVP in 2002.

19 In his first 11 seasons, all with the Cardinals, Pujols averaged 40 home runs a season and hit over .300 every year except the 11th, when he hit .299. During those seasons, he was a three-time MVP and runner-up three more times, and he was a nine-time All-Star. He finished his career back in St. Louis in 2022 with 703 career home runs.

20 Pujols continued his hitting streak for six more games. His 30-game hitting streak ended on August 22 with an 0-for-5 against Philadelphia.

21 Dan O’Neill, “Big Eighth Powers Cardinals,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 11, 2003: D1.

22 This was the fifth time a National or American League team turning an unassisted triple play lost the game.

23 Smoltz earned his 45th and final save of 2003 and his 100th of 2002-03 on September 23 against the Montreal Expos.

24 Smoltz was signed by the Cardinals as a free agent on August 19, 2009, two days after being released by the Boston Red Sox.

25 Furcal was acquired, with cash, by the Cardinals in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for Alex Castellanos on July 31, 2011. Furcal missed the entire 2013 season after having Tommy John surgery. Rick Hummel and Derrick Goold, “Rzepczynski’s Eye Injured in Golf Outing,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 9, 2013: B3. Furcal became a free agent after the season and spent time with the Miami Marlins and Kansas City Royals, appearing in nine games for the Marlins in 2014. He retired in May 2015 from the Royals without appearing in any games.