Flying bat, J-Rod’s gaffe on bases doom M’s rally

SEATTLE — With their playoff chances slipping away, the Seattle Mariners found a painful new way to lose.

A flying bat. A momentary memory lapse. And a bizarre double play.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before in a game. Just a strange situation,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said.

The Mariners fell to the New York Yankees 2-1 in 10 innings Wednesday night, but it was how the bottom of the 10th played out that will be remembered in Mariners lore as another chapter in a season that has gone awry.

With runners at the corners, Julio Rodríguez was picked off third base after dodging a flying bat that slipped out of the hands of Randy Arozarena when he struck out swinging.

“I’ve asked a few guys and all of them said, ‘I’ve never seen that on a baseball field,'” Rodríguez said.

Seattle trailed 2-1 when Cal Raleigh‘s leadoff single in the 10th advanced Rodríguez, the automatic runner, from second base to third. Ian Hamilton fanned Arozarena with a 2-2 slider, and his bat went sailing out of his hands.

Right at Rodríguez’s head.

“Honestly, I saw the bat flying right up to my face,” Rodríguez said.

Seattle’s young star scampered out of the way into foul territory as the bat bounded behind third base, and it took him a moment to regroup. But the play wasn’t dead, and catcher Austin Wells made a quick throw to third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., picking off Rodríguez before he could get back to the bag.

Rodríguez said he thought the play was over because the bat went flying.

“After I saw the bat I thought it was going to be a dead play, and then they were going to pick up the bat and I was going to go back to third,” Rodríguez said. “I got away and turned my back to the field and I heard [third base coach] Manny [Acta] yelling, ‘Get back to third.’ That’s when I got back to third.

“Honestly, at that moment I wasn’t really thinking about the game, just trying to get away from the bat coming at me. That’s what happened. That was a first for me, for sure.”

Hamilton struck out Justin Turner to end it, clinching a playoff berth for the Yankees.

Rodríguez’s mistake came a night after Victor Robles made the questionable decision to try stealing home in the first inning against New York while Turner was at the plate with a 3-0 count and the bases loaded. Robles was out and the Yankees rolled to an easy victory.

This defeat was more frustrating for Seattle as both Houston and Minnesota lost earlier Wednesday, meaning the Mariners missed a chance to make up needed ground in the AL West and wild-card races. Seattle is five games back of first-place Houston in the division and three behind Minnesota for the final AL wild-card spot.

“It all happened fast and again, just very reactionary,” Wilson said. “I think we’d all jump out of the way. But just unfortunate it ended up that way.”