Bruntlett turns three unassisted

Baseball: Second baseman Eric Bruntlett turned an unassisted triple play to end the Philadelphia Phillies’ wild 9-7 victory over the New York Mets on Sunday.

It was the 15th unassisted triple play in major league history – the second that ended a game. Detroit Tigers first baseman Johnny Neun also accomplished the feat on May 31, 1927, completing a 1-0 victory over Cleveland, according to STATS LLC.

With runners on first and second in the ninth inning, Jeff Francoeur hit a line drive up the middle that appeared headed toward center field for a single. But both runners were stealing on the pitch, so Bruntlett was in perfect position as he moved over to cover second base.

He caught the liner easily, stepped on second to double up Luis Castillo and then turned to tag Daniel Murphy for the third out. Murphy tried to backpedal away from Bruntlett, but had nowhere to go.

“Frenchy hit it on the screws,” Murphy said. “It happened so fast there was nothing I could do.”

Lagat second in 5,000 at worlds

Track and field: Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele used a furious kick down the back stretch to unseat American runner Bernard Lagat as world champion in the 5,000 meters on the last day of the world championships in Berlin.

It was a gritty performance by Lagat, who competed with four stitches near his left ankle after being stepped on by a spike in a preliminary round.

With his ankle numbed up to dull the pain, Lagat, a former WSU standout, bolted with the finish line in sight, pulling neck-and-neck with Bekele. But Bekele surged ahead with 30 meters left for the win – his second of the nine-day championships after the 10,000.

“I gave it all I had,” said Lagat, who won bronze in the 1,500 earlier in the meet. “I really wanted to retain my title, and wanted to defend it really, really bad. There was nothing more important than for me to defend my title. However, after the finish, after I realized that I lost to a great champion, I wasn’t disappointed.”

More on the world championships/B4

Hawks’ Spencer injures leg

Football: Seahawks starting center Chris Spencer has an injured leg and will have more tests to determine how long he will be out.

Spencer hurt his left quadriceps muscle in the second quarter of Saturday night’s 27-13 preseason win over Denver. He was taken to the locker room on a motorized cart.

Seahawks coach Jim Mora called the injury “the most serious” of assorted bumps and bruises.

Associated Press