MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins turned a triple play for the second time in less than three weeks when they achieved the rare feat Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves.

Twins left-hander Martin Perez was on the mound for both of the triple plays.

With three runs already in for Atlanta in the third inning and the bases loaded on Wednesday, Tyler Flowers hit a sharp grounder straight to third baseman Miguel Sano. He stepped on the bag and threw the ball to second baseman Jonathan Schoop, whose relay to first baseman C.J. Cron was in plenty of time to beat Flowers.

That kept the Braves from building on their 6-0 lead. They ended up winning, 11-7.

"It did buy us a little bit more time and some more pitches and some more innings,'' Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Perez was also pitching on July 22 against the New York Yankees when Edwin Encarnacion grounded into a 5-4-3 triple play turned by Luis Arraez, Schoop and Sano, who was playing first base in that game.

The major league record for most triple plays turned in one season is three, with the Chicago White Sox in 2016 the most recent of several teams to do so.

Before this year's double, the Twins had not turned a triple play since June 1, 2017.

On July 17, 1990, they performed an even rarer feat -- two triple plays in the same game, against the Boston Red Sox.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Gerardo Parra is not the first big leaguer to use "Baby Shark" as his walk-up song this year. That honor belongs to Elvis Andrus.

"It's my at-bats, it's my song, I can do anything I want," the Rangers shortstop told MLB.com back in March, when he kicked off the season using the Pinkfong piece as his personal ditty because his little son dug it. "I am very superstitious. If it gets a hit every day, I am going to keep it. If I don't get any hits, it might not be up there. Hopefully it will be the song I hit well with." Indeed, it was.

Through mid-April, Andrus was hitting over .400.

It was right around that time that I got a WhatsApp message from one of the parents on my 10-year-old son's Pikesville, Maryland-based travel baseball team. Once again, she was going to be coordinating walk-up music for the boys. Once again, I gulped.

Don't get me wrong: I love pretty much everything about the 12U Wellwood Warriors. The kids are bright-eyed and passionate. The coaches are caring and committed. The parents are kind and supportive (especially the VP of walk-up music). All that said, I'm not exactly a fan of the professionalization of youth sports.

I'm not a fan of kids having their last names on the back of their jerseys. I don't approve of tournaments where children play like 293 games over the course of one weekend, then can barely get out of bed for school come Monday morning. And it kind of makes me cringe when I hear about young athletes double-dipping and playing the same sport for a second season in the same calendar year (i.e. fall ball) instead of moving on to another sport. But apparently I'm a total hypocrite (and/or married to someone who doesn't mind these things so much). Because there I was in mid-April, asking my fourth grader what song he wanted to use for his walk-up.

Jonah's first instinct was to use some cliched hip-hop song that currently escapes my memory. "That works," I told him, trying my hardest to stay positive and supportive. "Or ... you could use 'Baby Shark.'"

"What's that?" Jonah asked.

I explained to Jonah that not only was a real live big-leaguer like Elvis Andrus using it as his walk-up song, but he was hitting like Ted Williams with it. I played the song for him on YouTube. If it works for Andrus, I said to Jonah, imagine what it could do for you. Besides, I told him, it could be hilarious.

To his credit, Jonah went for it. Maybe it was because at that point, two weeks into the spring travel season, he was batting a buck twenty-five and had nothing to lose. Or maybe it was because when you're the youngest of three boys and you grow up constantly trying to rise above the din and get people to pay you even the slightest bit of attention, you make bold choices. Bottom line is, he went for it. And the rest is history.

During the final two months of the season, Jonah pulled an Elvis Andrus and hit over .400, a hot streak he attributed to how relaxed he felt at the plate. His teammates started referring to him exclusively as Baby Shark, which was kind of comical given he's the biggest kid on his team.

His walk-up was such a huge hit that opposing pitchers routinely cracked up right there on the mound. It got to the point where Jonah considered changing his walk-up song because he was afraid it was distracting the pitchers too much, increasing his chances of accidentally getting plunked. (He did get hit twice thereafter, but my expert sportswriter opinion is neither one was music-related. Besides, that's part of baseball.)

Am I proud of my son? Always. But what I'm most proud of lately is that despite the brilliant success of the "Baby Shark" experiment, he won't be using it as his walk-up song for fall ball this year. He must have been listening to his old man, because he chose to stick it to the youth sports machine -- and play flag football instead.

A dual qualification system of entry standards and world rankings is in place for the 2020 Olympics

The GB selection policies for both the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games have been published by British Athletics.

There is a dual qualification system in place for the Olympic Games athletics, taking place from July 31 to August 9, while Paralympic Games team selection will be conducted in two waves ahead of the athletics action to be held from August 28 to September 6.

As reported in March, both entry standards and the new IAAF world ranking system will determine which athletes are eligible for selection to the Olympic Games.

The IAAF had initially intended to also use the new world rankings system to qualify athletes for this year’s World Championships in Doha but later decided to continue to use entry standards while the period of consultation for the new system was extended.

READ MORE: Dual qualification system for Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Under the new qualification process, athletes can qualify for the 2020 Olympics by either achieving the relevant entry standard within the respective qualification period, or by virtue of their IAAF world ranking position in the selected event at the end of the respective qualification period.

British Athletics’ standards match the IAAF’s and the GB qualification periods are as follows:
Marathon: January 1, 2019 to April 26, 2020
50km race walk: January 1, 2019 to the day of the trial in spring 2020 (exact date to be confirmed)
10,000m, 20km race walk and combined events: January 1, 2019 to June 21, 2020
All other events: May 1, 2019 to June 21, 2020

The entry standards can be found listed here.

“British Athletics’ strategic aim is to ‘win more medals in more events in Tokyo 2020 and beyond’,” reads the national governing body’s selection policy document in part.

“The policy will reflect the strategic aim and will be structured in line with the 2017-2024 selection philosophy to select athletes capable of winning medals and maximising top eight placings at the Games.”

It adds in part: “For the avoidance of doubt, if an athlete has not achieved a qualification standard but receives an IAAF invitation based on world ranking, this does not guarantee selection. Athletes without a qualification standard but in receipt of an IAAF invitation will only be selected as summarised above (full details in selection policy document downloadable here), and on the basis of the performance director’s discretion.”

READ MORE: Tokyo 2020 Olympic medals unveiled with one year to go

The main track and field trials event for the Olympic Games will be the British Championships on June 20-21, taking place in Manchester’s Sportcity for the first time since 2007.

Recent years have seen the national championships staged at the Alexander Stadium but the Birmingham venue is undergoing redevelopment ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The two waves of Paralympic Games team selections are set to take place on June 22 and July 20, 2020.

The full British Athletics selection policy document for the Olympic Games can be downloaded here, while the selection policy document for the Paralympic Games is here.

Links to ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ documents for both events can be found here.

RAPID CITY, S.D. — For the second time in what’s becoming a breakout American Flat Track season, Briar Bauman demonstrated the resiliency of a champion with a rebound victory in Tuesday night’s Black Hills Half-Mile Presented By Law Tigers.

Two rounds ago, the AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines title leader bounced back from a season’s worst 16th-place result with a blowout win in the New York Short Track.

The factory Indian ace replicated that trick at Black Hills Speedway, following up a second 16th-place disappointment in Sunday’s Buffalo Chip TT with another convincing triumph.

Bauman led the way practically throughout the once red-flagged and restarted Main, despite being kept honest by Jeffrey Carver Jr. (No. 23 Roof-Systems of Dallas/Indian of Metro Milwaukee FTR750) and brother Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750).

Reigning champion Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) had looked to join that fight up front as well but slid out in turn one while running in fifth position.

Davis Fisher (No. 67 Bob Lanphere Beaverton Motorcycles/Dick Wall 60 Indian FTR750), who was in sixth at the time, was forced to intentionally slam into the airfence in order to avoid striking the fallen Mees. Moments later, Robert Pearson (No. 27 R/J Performance/Hite Trucking Indian FTR750) rode over top of Fisher’s downed machine while taking evasive action himself to avoid hitting both men.

All three eventually returned to their feet, although Fisher’s and Pearson’s bikes were too heavily damaged to take part in the restart. Meanwhile, Mees only narrowly managed to rejoin the fray, returning to the track just before the field had completed the opening lap of the restarted race.

Up front, Bauman fought off an immediate advance from Carver and held strong to the flag, securing his third win of the season by 1.136 seconds. Carver finished second with Bronson Bauman another 0.157 seconds back in third.

“I threw the thing on the ground twice the other night,” race-winner Bauman said. “I owed my team this win times ten. I can’t thank them enough. The motorcycles for me and Bronson were incredible, and we work together so well as a team.

“You dream of this when you’re a kid, but you don’t think it’s ever going to become a reality because you just race because you love it. To be on a team with my brother, and win here in front of some incredible fans, it means a lot.”

Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Kennedy Racing/Armbruster Racing Indian FTR750) was forced to work hard to claim fourth, displacing former WorldSBK pilot PJ Jacobsen (No. 199 Coolbeth-Nila Racing Indian FTR750) late in the contest.

Weeks after claiming his first-career American Flat Track win in the AFT Production Twins class following a decade of trying, Chad Cose (No. 49 Parkinson Bros Racing/Rod Lake Suzuki RMZ 450) backed it up by scoring his first-ever Roof Systems AFT Singles presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys victory in thrilling fashion.

Cose had to fight for it throughout, waging a series of back-and-forth melees with the likes of holeshotter Morgen Mischler (No. 69 Waters Autobody Racing/D&D Powersports KTM 450 SX-F), the ever-aggressive Shayna Texter (No. 52 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing SX-F 450), and AFT Singles championship leader Dalton Gauthier (No. 122 D&D Cycles/Gobert Smash Husqvarna FC450).

Cose was seriously hooked up in the return of his still-developing American Suzuki RMZ 450; he was able to exploit multiple lines and had an answer for everything Mischler and Texter threw at him late, including when Texter rode up the inside and alongside him in an attempt to steal away the win in the race’s final several corners.

Cose held it open around the outside and edged Texter to the flag by 0.062 seconds with Mischler just over a half-second back in third.

Cose said, “I don’t know if I want to call it lucky or good or somewhere in between, but the racecraft comes into play. I know she has so much experience at this, and it was a game of cat and mouse. Luckily I crossed the finish line first.”

Michael Inderbitzin (No. 54 Morris Racing/Mark Strock CRF450R) took fourth, followed by rookie prodigy Dallas Daniels (No. 163 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) in fifth.

Ryan Varnes (No. 68 Varnes Racing/RoyBuilt Kawasaki Ninja 650) had been knocking on the door for years, and he finally smashed through it with a lopsided win in Tuesday night’s 15-lap AFT Production Twins Main Event.

Varnes worked the low line to perfection, which, when combined with the R5 Dunlop Motorcycle Tire (Varnes was the only AFT Production Twins rider to ride the softer compound), helped him to power underneath early leader J.R. Addison (No. 24 Smith/Addison Racing Kawasaki Ninja 650) on lap 3. From that point on, Varnes continually stretched out his advantage before easing off and coasting to a 1.471-second margin of victory in what was his maiden American Flat Track triumph.

“The bike was just working,” Varnes said. “I didn’t get the best start and I ran it in the bottom and just went for it. It seemed to work out. It chugged through the bottom no problem. I ducked into second and made another pass down low and then rode my own race. I was charging the whole time and didn’t look back until the last corner. It was just awesome. Getting my first win ever… I feel like it’s long overdue, but I can’t thank all my sponsors enough.”

Addison almost got gobbled up by a wild inter-team scrap for the final spot on the podium between James Rispoli (No. 71 Black Hills Harley-Davidson XG750R Rev X) and Dalton Gauthier (No. 122 Black Hills Harley-Davidson XG750R Rev X).

KAUKAUNA, Wis. – Tuesday night’s Dixieland 250 at Wisconsin Int’l Raceway saw Ty Majeski finally fill a longtime void in his super late model trophy case.

Majeski, who had never won the crown jewel event in any of his previous attempts, finally checked that box off his to-do list with an impressive late-race charge to victory.

The Seymour, Wis., native – who grew up 15 miles from WIR – passed Austin Nason with 45 laps to go and went on to score the $10,000 win at his home race track.

In the process, Majeski completed the triple crown of Wisconsin super late model racing, with his Dixieland 250 win joining previous victories in the Slinger Nationals and Joe Shear Classic.

Though several yellow flags in the final 25 circuits kept Majeski’s competition, like runner-up John DeAngelis Jr., right on his bumper for the closing stages, Majeski never faltered and mastered each subsequent restart en route to the win in his familiar No. 91 machine.

It continued a torrid stretch for Majeski of late, after also winning the Blue race of the Red-White-Blue Series at WIR on Thursday by topping qualifying, his dash race and sweeping a pair of twin 35-lap features.

DeAngelis finished second after 250 laps, coming in 2.685 seconds adrift of Majeski at the checkered flag. Dan Frederickson crossed third, followed by Nason, who faded back to fourth after losing the lead to Majeski.

Carson Kvapil completed the top five, ahead of NASCAR K&N Pro Series West point leader Derek Kraus, Paul Shafer, Bobby Kendall, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series star Daniel Hemric and Eddie MacDonald.

The finish:

Ty Majeski, John DeAngelis Jr., Dan Fredrickson, Austin Nason, Carson Kvapil, Derek Kraus, Paul Shafer, Bobby Kendall, Daniel Hemric, Eddie MacDonald, Dennis Prunty, Luke Fenhaus, Tim Lampman, Casey Johnson, Brett Yackey, Gabe Sommers, Jeff VanOudenhoven, Grant Griesbach, Rich Bickle Jr., Mike Reichenberger, Kyle Calmes, Andrew Brocker, Andrew Morrissey, Justin Mondeik, Chris Weinkauf, Andy Monday, Brent Strelka, Cory Manders, Pete Vandermolen.

OSKALOOSA, Iowa — Wayne Johnson used a mid-race pass to take the Sage Fruit Ultimate ASCS Challenge Tuesday night at Southern Iowa Speedway.

The 25-lap ASCS feature got off to a rocky start when Jon Agan and Shawn Murray crashed on the backstretch.

Once underway, Californian Willie Croft led Tucker Doughty and Matt Covington.  Wayne Johnson, who started in row four, was by Covington for third by lap four.

Four circuits later, Johnson slid by Doughty for second and set his sights on the leader.  On lap 12, Johnson slid under Croft to lead, but Croft battled back by to lead lap 13 in a good battle.  Johnson took the point for good on lap 14, before hitting lapped traffic on the 16th circuit.

ASCS point leader, Sam Hafertepe Jr., was surging as well, moving into the top three on lap 16.  The final caution came out for a stopped Trey Starks with nine to go.  Meanwhile, a fire ended Covington’s night while running fourth.

Johnson pulled away on the restart, while Hafertepe took second on lap 18. Johnson would hold on for the win, ahead of Hafertepe, Croft, Doughty and Scott Bogucki.

Brady Bacon won from the tail in the companion POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League Ultimate Challenge event.

The finish:

Feature (25 laps): 1. 2c, Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, OK (7) 2. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (8) 3. 29, Willie Croft, Roseville, CA (1) 4. 2x, Tucker Doughty, Sunnyvale, TX (2) 5. 28, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust (12) 6. 52, Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (6) 7. 5, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (11) 8. 33m, Mason Daniel, Springville, CA (17) 9. J2, John Carney II, El Paso, TX (10) 10. 53, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (14) 11. 11, Roger Crockett, Broken Arrow, OK (22) 12. 21K, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. (15) 13. 17w, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (18) 14. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (18) 15. 21P, Robbie Price, Cobble Hill, BC, Can. (23, prov.) 16. 77x, Alex Hill, Six Nations, ONT, Can. (21) 17. 1, Travis Rilat, Heath, TX (20) 18. 14, Jordon Mallett, Greenbrier, AR (24, prov.) 19. 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (4) 20. 44, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (9) 21. 75AU, Kyle Bellm, Nixa, MO (13) 22. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (5) 23. 22, Shawn Murray, Jacksonville, FL (10) DQ – 3, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (19). Lap Leaders: Croft 1-11, W. Johnson 12, Croft 13, W. Johnson 14-25. KSE Hard-charger: Crockett. Snap-On Mechanic of the Race:Conner Nelson.

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