SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners have long since lost their playoff chances and now they have found a new, painful way to lose.
A flying bat. A brief memory loss. And a bizarre double play.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that in a game before. Just a weird situation,” said Seattle manager Dan Wilson.
The Mariners lost to the New York Yankees 2-1 in 10 innings on Wednesday night. but it was the outcome of the second inning that will go down in Mariners history as another chapter of a season gone wrong.
With runners on the corners, Julio Rodríguez was intercepted at third base after dodging a flying bat that slipped from Randy Arozarena’s hand as he swung his swing.
“I asked a few people and they all said, ‘I’ve never seen anything like that on a baseball field,'” Rodríguez said.
Seattle trailed 2-1 when Cal Raleigh’s leadoff single in the 10th inning moved Rodríguez, the automatic runner, from second to third base. Ian Hamilton struck out Arozarena with a 2-2 slider and his bat flew out of his hands.
Right on Rodríguez’s head.
“Honestly, I saw the bat flying straight toward my face,” Rodríguez said.
Seattle’s young star scurried out of the way into foul territory as the bat bounced behind third base, and it took him a moment to gather himself. But the game wasn’t over yet, and catcher Austin Wells quickly threw the ball to third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. and intercepted Rodríguez before he could return to base.
Rodríguez said he thought the game was over because the bat flew through the air.
“After I saw the bat, I thought it was a dead play, and then they would pick up the bat and I would go back to third base. I ran away and turned my back to the field, and I heard (third base coach) Manny (Acta) yell, ‘Go back to third base.’ That’s when I went back to third base,” Rodríguez explained.
“To be honest, I wasn’t really thinking about the game at that moment, I was just trying to avoid the bat that was coming at me. And that’s exactly what happened. That was definitely a first for me.”
Hamilton struck out Justin Turner and ended the game. and secured a playoff spot for the Yankees.
Rodríguez’s error came one night after Victor Robles made the very questionable decision to steal a home run in the first inning against New York while Turner was at bat with a 3-0 count. Robles was out and the Yankees rolled to an easy win.
This loss was even more frustrating for Seattle because both Houston and Minnesota lost the previous Wednesday. The Mariners missed a chance to make up some needed ground in the AL West and wild card race. Seattle is five games behind first place Houston in the division and three games behind Minnesota in the race for the final AL wild card.
“It all happened very quickly and again very reactionary. I think we would all have jumped out of the way. But unfortunately that’s how it turned out,” Wilson said.
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