Also by David A. Kelly

  BALLPARK MYSTERIES®

  #1 The Fenway Foul-Up

  #2 The Pinstripe Ghost

  #3 The L.A. Dodger

  #4 The Astro Outlaw

  #5 The All-Star Joker

  #6 The Wrigley Riddle

  #7 The San Francisco Splash

  #8 The Missing Marlin

  #9 The Philly Fake

  #10 The Rookie Blue Jay

  #11 The Tiger Troubles

  #12 The Rangers Rustlers

  #13 The Capital Catch

  #14 The Cardinals Caper

  #15 The Baltimore Bandit

  #16 The Colorado Curveball

  #17 The Triple Play Twins

  SUPER SPECIAL #1 The World Series Curse

  SUPER SPECIAL #2 Christmas in Cooperstown

  SUPER SPECIAL #3 Subway Series Surprise

  SUPER SPECIAL #4 The World Series Kids

  THE MVP SERIES

  #1 The Gold Medal Mess

  #2 The Soccer Surprise

  #3 The Football Fumble

  #4 The Basketball Blowout

  Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2021 by David A. Kelly

  Cover art and interior illustrations copyright © 2021 by Mark Meyers

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

  Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks and A Stepping Stone Book and the colophon are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. Ballpark Mysteries® is a registered trademark of Upside Research, Inc.

  Visit us on the Web!

  rhcbooks.com

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at RHTeachersLibrarians.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Kelly, David A. (David Andrew), author. | Meyers, Mark, illustrator.

  Title: The triple play twins / by David A. Kelly; illustrated by Mark Meyers.

  Description: New York: Random House, [2021] | Series: Ballpark mysteries; 17 | “A Stepping stone book.” | Summary: “Cousins Mike and Kate investigate after Marco and Pedro, the twin players from the Minnesota Twins, are subjected to a water-balloon attack.”—Provided by publisher

  Identifiers: LCCN 2020028607 | ISBN 978-0-593-12624-0 (trade) | ISBN 978-0-593-12625-7 (lib. bdg.) | ISBN 978-0-593-12626-4 (ebook)

  Subjects: CYAC: Baseball—Fiction. | Minnesota Twins (Baseball team)—Fiction. | Brothers—Fiction. | Twins—Fiction. | Cousins—Fiction. | Minnesota—Fiction. | Mystery and detective stories.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.K2936 Tri 2021 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  Ebook ISBN 9780593126264

  This book has been officially leveled by using the F&P Text Level Gradient™ Leveling System.

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  a_prh_5.6.0_c0_r0

  This book is dedicated to kids who don’t like to read or have a hard time reading. I know I did. Stick with it. Remember, reading is like downloading games. You can reprogram your brain just by reading a book!

  —D.A.K.

  “My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.

  Mother would come out and say, ‘You’re tearing up the grass.’

  ‘We’re not raising grass,’ Dad would reply. ‘We’re raising boys.’ ”

  —Harmon Killebrew, the Minnesota Twins’ greatest hitter, thirteen-time All-Star, and member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame

  Contents

  Cover

  Also by David A. Kelly

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1: A Splash Hit

  Chapter 2: Sibling Rivalry

  Chapter 3: Do Not Disturb

  Chapter 4: Who’s Lying?

  Chapter 5: A Second Spotting

  Chapter 6: A Third Possibility

  Chapter 7: A Second Surprise!

  Chapter 8: Out of Storage

  Chapter 9: A Triple Play

  Chapter 10: Triple Play Triplets

  Dugout Notes Minnesota Twins

  “Hey, what’s a pig doing at a baseball game?” Mike Walsh asked his cousin Kate Hopkins.

  It was a warm summer night, and Mike and Kate were at a minor-league game in St. Paul, Minnesota, with Kate’s mom. It was the bottom of the fifth inning, and a pig wearing a purple baseball cap and frilly purple outfit had just trotted out to the umpire near home plate.

  “He’s the St. Paul Saints’ mascot,” Kate said. “He’s trained to bring out new baseballs!”

  “I just hope he doesn’t hog the ball!” Mike said as he nudged Kate.

  The umpire opened a small box that was strapped to the pig’s back and pulled out a fresh white baseball. But before the pig could return to its pen, the catcher caught it. He picked the pig up. Its feet dangled in the air. The catcher pointed the pig’s pink snout at the umpire and nodded. The crowd yelled, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

  The umpire waved his hands and turned his head away. But the crowd roared more and clapped louder. Finally, the umpire turned back. He held up his hands and leaned over. The catcher moved the pig forward.

  The umpire gave the pig a big kiss!

  “Yuck!” Mike said. He wiped his mouth on his arm.

  The catcher put the pig down. It took off for its pen under the stands.

  “Hey, I betcha don’t know what position that pig plays,” Mike said.

  “No, what?” Kate asked.

  “Short-slop!” Mike said as he collapsed into laughter.

  The game resumed a moment later with the fresh, pig-delivered baseball. The St. Paul Saints’ batter wasted no time in sending it out of the park. With a loud WAP! his bat connected with the first pitch for a home run! The fans cheered as he circled the bases. The Saints were now ahead of the Chicago Dogs by three runs!

  Kate’s mom, Mrs. Hopkins, leaned forward in her seat next to Kate. “I hope the other home team does just as well when we see them tomorrow night,” she said. Mrs. Hopkins was a sports reporter. She often brought Mike and Kate with her when she traveled for work. “The cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis are so close together, they think of themselves as twins. People can root for the minor-league team in St. Paul and the major-league team in Minneapolis!”

  “I guess that’s why they call the Minneapolis team the Minnesota Twins,” Mike said.

  Mrs. Hopkins nodded. “Exactly. They were originally going to be called the Twin Cities Twins when they moved from Washington, D.C., in 1960,” she said. “But they were named the Minnesota Twins instead.”

  “I read about that on the plane,” Kate said. She loved to read. “That’s why their big bear mascot is called T.C. Bear. It’s short for Twin Cities Bear!”

  Down on the field, the next St. Paul Saints batter grounded out to end the inning.

  “Wait until you see the giant neon sign near the Twins’ scoreboard,” Mrs. Hopkins said. “It has an outline of the state with twin baseball players standing on opposite sides of the Mississippi River shaking hands. They represent the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Can you guess what their names are?”

  “Fred and George?” Mike asked. “Like in Harry Potter?”

  Mrs. Hopkins laughed and shook her head. “Good guess, but no. You need to be thinking about the names of the Twin Cities.”

  “How about Minnie and Paul?” Kate asked. “Like Minneapolis and St. Paul!”

  “Yes, exactly!” Mrs. Hopkins said.

  “Oh, I was just about to guess Marco and Pedro!” Mike said. “The twin Twins!”

  The twin Twins were twin brothers who played for the Minnesota Twins. Marco was their star second baseman, and Pedro was their star first baseman. They were famous for making triple plays, which are rare. Even though an average of only five triple plays are made each year among all major-league teams, Marco and Pedro had made three so far this season.

  Mrs. Hopkins nodded. “That would have been a good guess, too,” she said. “I’m going to interview them tomorrow for my article, but maybe I can introduce them to you after tonight’s game.”

  Mike and Kate looked at each other and high-fived. “Cool!” Mike said. He pulled a black marker from his pocket and held it up with a baseball. “I’m going to ask them for their autographs! If they win two more games, the Twins will clinch a spot in the playoffs for the first time in a really long time!”

  Neither team scored in the next inning, and soon the organ started blasting away for the seventh-inning stretch. Fans rose from their seats and sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” When the song ended, the announcer’s voice boomed from the loudspeakers.

  “And now, help me welcome the dynamic duo from our sister city. The one. The two. The only twin Twins!”

  The crowd roared and clapped. Two tall baseball players in Minnesota Twins uniforms bounded
out to the coach’s box near first base. They took off their hats and waved as the crowd cheered. They had short buzz cuts and tall, muscular bodies. The twins picked up a large cardboard check for the children’s hospital and held it in front of them. They waved and smiled.

  Suddenly, there was a commotion above Mike’s and Kate’s seats.

  “Heads up!” a fan called from behind them.

  Everyone looked up. A large red object sailed through the air from the top of the stands.

  It was headed right for the twin Twins!

  They tried to escape, but it was too late to move.

  A giant water balloon landed on their shoulders and exploded with a splash!

  “Whoa!” Kate cried out. “That was a direct hit!”

  “And not the kind you usually see in a baseball game,” Mike said.

  The twins were soaked. So was the giant cardboard check they were holding. A batboy ran over from the dugout with towels.

  Kate turned and scanned the crowd. Most of the fans were watching the action on the field. But Kate saw a tall man with long blond hair jogging to the exit.

  Kate nudged Mike. “Quick! There’s a guy trying to get away. Let’s follow him,” she whispered. She turned to her mom. “We’re going to check something out. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Okay,” her mom said.

  Kate ran for the main level while Mike scrambled up the stairs behind her. At the top of the aisle, Kate made a beeline for the nearest exit. Mike followed close behind. Just ahead was the man with blond hair.

  He had stopped in front of the security guard at the exit. He turned around and glanced at the field. He was wearing a Chicago White Sox hat. He had small eyes that were close together and a bushy black mustache. Before Kate and Mike could reach him, he slipped past the guard and out of the ballpark.

  Kate and Mike ran for the exit.

  The security guard held up her hand. “Hold on, kids,” she said. “Once you leave, you can’t come back into the park.”

  Kate skidded to a stop. “It’s important,” she said. “Can we just go outside for a minute?”

  The guard shook her head. “Sorry, I can’t allow that.”

  Mike and Kate watched as the blond man jogged away from the park.

  “Do you think he threw the balloon?” Mike asked.

  Kate shrugged. “I didn’t see him do it, but he was the only fan who wasn’t looking at the field when I spotted him,” she said. “Plus, why would he run away if he wasn’t guilty? Something’s not right.”

  “Maybe it was just a practical joke,” Mike said. “Baseball players love to play practical jokes on each other. Especially famous ones like the twin Twins, I bet. I’m sure someone’s jealous of them!”

  “Maybe,” Kate said. “Let’s get back.”

  By the time Mike and Kate made it back to their seats, the twin Twins had left the field and the game had resumed. Two innings later, the St. Paul Saints pitcher struck out three batters and the game was over. The Saints had won!

  Mrs. Hopkins stood up. “Let’s go find the twin Twins,” she said. “Hopefully they’ve dried off by now!”

  The three made their way over to the Saints’ dugout. Mrs. Hopkins talked to one of the security guards, and he let them onto the field. The twin Twins were standing near first base again and had just finished an interview with a TV crew. Mrs. Hopkins walked up and introduced herself, Mike, and Kate.

  Marco and Pedro, the twin Twins, towered over Mike and Kate. They reached out to shake hands.

  “I’m Marco,” said the one on the left. “Nice to meet you!”

  “And I’m Pedro,” said the one on the right. “Nice to meet you!”

  Mike and Kate shook their hands and looked from one twin to the other. They were identical.

  “Wow! You guys really look the same,” Mike said. “How can people tell you apart?”

  Pedro and Marco straightened up. “We get that a lot,” the one on the left said. “We really do look the same. Sometimes even we get confused.”

  The twin on the right nodded. “Yup,” he said. He nudged his brother. “Actually, I think I’m Marco, and you’re Pedro.”

  “Oh, maybe! Better check our numbers,” the twin on the left said. The twins turned around to show the numbers on their jerseys. They read 12 and 21.

  “Yup!” the twin on the left said after Kate read the numbers off. “Pedro’s number is twelve, and Marco’s is twenty-one. So I guess I’m Pedro, not Marco. We’re so identical it’s hard to remember who’s who!”

  Pedro and Marco looked at each other for a moment and then broke up laughing! Mike, Kate, and Mrs. Hopkins joined in.

  “We actually do remember our own names,” Pedro said. “And you can tell us apart if you look at Marco’s chin. He’s got a little scar on it from when he was learning to ride a bike and fell off it!” Pedro smiled and pointed to his mouth. “And I’ve got a small chip on my front tooth from being hit by a ball!”

  Mike and Kate studied the twins’ faces. “Yeah, you’re right!” Mike said. “So I guess you’re not exactly the same!”

  “Nope,” Pedro said. “Even though we look almost identical, there are some differences!”

  “Like one of us is a better hitter!” Marco said, nudging his brother. “When’s the last time you hit a home run? I hit at least one per week!”

  Pedro smiled. “Check the statistics,” he said. “Who’s hit more doubles and runs batted in? That means I’m the better hitter!”

  “Well, I think you’re both great hitters,” Mike said. He pulled a marker and a baseball from his pocket. “Would you be willing to sign my baseball?”

  “Sure,” the twins said in unison.

  Pedro signed his name with the number 12, and Marco signed his with the number 21.

  “Thanks!” Mike said. He studied the signatures. “Sweet! This one is going into our collection!” He slipped the ball into his pocket.

  Kate pointed to a few wet spots on the sleeves of the twins’ jerseys. “Looks like that water balloon soaked you two,” she said. “Was that a practical joke by your teammates or something?”

  Marco and Pedro looked at their damp uniforms and shook their heads.

  “No, we have no idea who could have done that,” Marco said. “Maybe someone is trying to throw us off our game so we don’t get into the playoffs!”

  “Maybe,” Pedro said. “But you know, if the water balloon had just hit you, I would have guessed it was Mom. She’s always liked me better than you.”

  Marco gave his brother a gentle shove. “She does not,” he said. “Plus, she couldn’t tell us apart anyway! I’ll bet she thought you were me!”

  Pedro puffed out his chest and stared down Marco for a moment. Then they both burst out laughing again!

  “But really, whoever it was had a pretty good arm,” Pedro said. “They threw it all the way from the main walkway!”

  “We could use an arm like that for our game tomorrow night against the Milwaukee Brewers,” Marco said. “We have to win the next two games to make the playoffs!”

  Pedro nodded. “Hey, we should get going,” he said. “Nice to meet you. Maybe we’ll see you tomorrow night!”

  “It’s time for us to go, too,” Mrs. Hopkins said. “We’ve got a big day tomorrow. A Minnesota Twins baseball game tomorrow night, and an afternoon at the biggest mall in America! You know, the one with the amusement park in it!”

  “Oh, wow!” Mike said. He high-fived Kate. “Roller coasters, here we come!”

  “Watch out below!” Mike called out.

  The giant floating log Kate and Mike were riding in bobbed along its water-filled track and zipped down an incline. It picked up speed until it splashed at the bottom and then started moving up an even larger hill.

  “That was awesome!” Mike said. “Wait until the last drop. It’s the biggest!”

  Mike and Kate were at the amusement park in the center of the giant mall near the city of Minneapolis. Kate’s mom was shopping while Mike and Kate were exploring the rides. They had already gone on a Ferris wheel, a spinning flight machine, and a tall drop tower. After the log flume, they planned to hit the roller coaster that looped through the mall’s center court area.