A flying bat and a base-running error cost the Mariners a chance to catch up in the playoff race

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

A flying bat. A momentary memory lapse. And a strange double game.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in a game. It’s just a weird situation,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said.

The Mariners lost to the New York Yankees 2-1 in 10 innings on Wednesday night, but it was the way the bottom of the 10th inning unfolded that will be remembered by the Mariners as another chapter in a season gone wrong.

With runners on the corners, Julio Rodriguez was intercepted at third base after dodging a flying bat that slipped out of Randy Arozarena’s hands as he struck out three.

“I asked a few guys and they all said, ‘I’ve never seen that on a baseball field,’” Rodriguez said.

Seattle trailed 2-1 when Cal Raleigh’s single in the top of the 10th inning advanced automatic runner Rodríguez from second to third. Ian Hamilton struck out Arozarena with a 2-2 slider, and his bat slipped out of his hand.

Right at Rodriguez’s head.

“I honestly saw the bat fly into my face,” Rodriguez said.

Seattle’s young star bolted off the field as the bat bounced behind third base, and it took him a moment to compose himself. But the play wasn’t dead, and catcher Austin Wells made a quick throw to third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., intercepting Rodriguez before he could get back to the bag.

Rodriguez said he thought the play was over because the bat flew away.

“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 base. I walked 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,” Rodriguez said.

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

Hamilton struck out Justin Turner to end the game, giving the Yankees a playoff spot.

Rodriguez’s mistake came one night after Victor Robles made the highly questionable decision to attempt to steal home in the first inning against New York while Turner was batting with a 3-0 count. Robles was tagged out and the Yankees cruised to an easy victory.

The loss was all the more frustrating for Seattle because Houston and Minnesota lost earlier Wednesday, meaning the Mariners missed a chance to catch up in the American League West and the wild-card race. Seattle is five games behind first-place Houston and three games behind Minnesota for the final wild-card spot in the American League.

“It all happened very quickly and, again, very reactionary. I think we would have all walked away. But it’s a shame that it ended this way,” Wilson said.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb