Alex Rodriguez’s absence from this year’s lineup had many New York Yankees fans worried about who would fill his shoes, but 26-year-old rookie Yangervis Solarte already is making a name for himself at third base.
Solarte acted fast in the second inning of Thursday night’s game when Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Sean Rodriguez slammed a ground ball down the third base line. Solarte quickly stepped on his base and launched the ball to second in what turned out to be the start of a remarkable 5-4-3 triple play. The Yankees had not carried out a successful triple play since April of last year.
Aside from his fielding skills, Solarte also has been making lots of noise at the plate. He boasted a .348 batting average with seven RBIs over his first 14 games in the major leagues.
Check out the video below to see Solarte kick off the Yankees’ first triple play of the season.
[mlbvideo id=”32159635″ width=”640″ height=”360″ /]
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@elvenezolanoweb
