Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez had a choice.
Stay on third base and risk getting plunked by a flying bat hurtling towards his body or dodge the incoming lumber and take himself off the base momentarily.
Rodriguez's survival instincts kicked in, and unfortunately, he made a critical baserunning error in the process.
Down 2-1 in the bottom of the 10th inning, Rodriguez, the ghost runner, was the tying run at second base when Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh singled to left, moving him to third.
That's when the fun, or lack therof, began for Seattle.
Outfielder Randy Arozarena struck out on a 2-2 slider, and lost control of the bat, which went flying towards Rodriguez at third. The Mariners outfielder, in his haste to avoid the flying bat, jogged off of third and was unable to get back to the bag before being doubled off.
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After the game, Rodriguez told The Associated Press he had initially believed it was a dead play.
"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," Rodriguez 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."
Rodriguez's play comes one day after teammate Victor Robles was thrown out attempting to steal home on a 3-0 count with the bases loaded in the first inning of Tuesday's loss to New York.
The critical errors loom even larger, as Seattle, five games back in the American League West and three games back of the final wild card spot, still has an outside shot at the postseason.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Julio Rodriguez Made Unfortunate Baserunning Error After Dodging Flying Bat.
