CHICAGO -- Call them The Jackson 3 -- and they made it look as easy as A-B-C.
In a fun, quirky, never-before-seen lineup oddity, the Orioles started Jackson Holliday at second base, Jeremiah Jackson in right field and Alex Jackson at catcher for Sunday’s series finale vs. the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time a team in the Modern Era (since 1900) has started at least three players with the name Jackson (first or last).
The fact alone is fun, but an event during the first inning took the Jacksons to another level.
Ian Happ hit a two-out RBI double to right field that pushed Chicago’s lead to 2-0, but Carson Kelly was thrown out at home trying to score on the play. It was a 9-4-2 relay play -- so Jackson (Jeremiah) to Jackson (Holliday) to Jackson (Alex).
How about that?
Perhaps the Orioles will someday have a chance to extend their new record. There are plenty of Jacksons throughout baseball (both first- and last-named), so maybe even more could come to Baltimore in the future. (And Holliday figures to be a lineup fixture for a long time.)
The Jackson 3 lineup wasn’t possible until Friday, when Jeremiah Jackson was promoted from Triple-A Norfolk for his first big league callup. The 25-year-old utility man played 372 games at Double-A from 2022-25, before reaching Triple-A for the first time earlier this year. He was brought to the Majors amid the fallout of the Orioles’ Trade Deadline fire sale.
Alex Jackson has been with the O’s since July 6, when he was acquired from the Yankees in a trade. The 29-year-old is now serving as the backup catcher to Adley Rutschman, who was at designated hitter on Sunday.