ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto had never been part of a triple play -- not in the minors, not in college, not even in Little League. He'd only ever seen them on social media. Then he turned one almost single-handedly on Tuesday night -- in a big spot, against one of the game's best players -- to generate a massive momentum swing against the reigning World Series champs.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had runners on first and second with none out and the score tied at 5 in the top of the sixth inning when Shohei Ohtani hit a low line drive up the middle. Neto, shaded almost behind second base, caught it, immediately stepped on second to double up Miguel Rojas, who froze on contact, then fired to first base to get Dalton Rushing, the rookie catcher who seemed perplexed by the development.
The Angels went on to win 7-6 in 10 innings and moved to 5-0 against the Dodgers this season. The prior night, Neto had set the tone in another victory by homering twice in the Angel Stadium opener.
The triple play, in his mind, was better.
"I like hitting home runs," Neto said, "but making a play like that in a situation where you have one of the best hitters up to bat, with first and second, no outs -- to be able to make a play like that, I think it was pretty special."
Neto's triple play was only the third in the majors this season and the first by the Angels since Aug. 18, 2023, when a miraculous 6-4-3-2 triple play kept the game tied in the ninth inning. Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel made the final turn in that one -- then made the final tag in this one after fielding Neto's throw.
"If he messed that up," Neto said of Schanuel, "we were going to have some words."
The triple play marked the latest lowlight for a Dodgers team that has been reeling for the better part of six weeks, going 15-20 since the start of July. Their third straight loss was coupled with the San Diego Padres' fourth straight win, setting up a tie between the division rivals for first place in the National League West -- with three games looming between them from Dodger Stadium this weekend.
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman believes it's "too early" to focus on the standings.
"It won't be tied if we don't win games," Freeman said, "so that's kind of our main focus right now."
Ohtani did his part to make that happen. Three innings after lining into the triple play, the Dodgers' two-way player turned on a ninth-inning cutter from Angels closer Kenley Jansen and sent it out to right field for his 43rd home run, temporarily giving his team the lead.
But the Angels came back against an exceedingly short-handed Dodgers bullpen, manufacturing a run to force extras in the bottom of the ninth and walking it off on Jo Adell's single in the bottom of the 10th.
Next up, in Wednesday's series finale, they'll face Ohtani the pitcher.
"I definitely pissed him off," Neto said of his triple play against Ohtani. "That's OK. I got to face him tomorrow. I'll just enjoy this for a couple more hours and get ready to face him."