Yankees clinch playoff spot after Julio Rodríguez’s baserunning disaster

Julio Rodríguez’s survival instinct cost the Seattle Mariners a hefty sum of money on Wednesday.

With Seattle down 2-1 in the 10th inning against the New York Yankees, Rodríguez started the frame at second base and quickly found himself 90 feet away from tying the game on a single by Cal Raleigh. At the time, the Mariners had no outs and the middle of the order up.

First there was Randy Arozarena, who tied Yankees reliever Ian Hamilton at 2-2. And then it all went wrong for the Mariners.

Arozarena hit and missed a Hamilton slider for strike three, losing his bat. That bat flew down the third base line, causing Rodríguez to jump out of the way and then run off the basepath. Rodríguez may have been relaxing after a big scare, but unfortunately the ball was still alive.

A quick throw to third base and Rodríguez was out.

Based on Fangraphs’ win likelihood, that one play moved the Mariners from a 64.8% chance to win to 8.9%, a 55.9% swing. Justin Turner struck out swinging on the next at-bat to end the game, a 2-1 Yankees win.

The win made the Yankees the second team in MLB to clinch a playoff spot, joining the Milwaukee Brewers, who also punched their ticket Wednesday. It also continued a career-worst season for Rodríguez.

That would all be bad for any team, but it’s particularly brutal for the Mariners, considering this was their second straight game that featured a baserunning disaster. Victor Robles made perhaps the most stunning error on the basepaths of the season on Wednesday when he attempted to steal home on a 3-0 count with the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning.

He was caught, ending a threat that had the Mariners one ball away from an easy run. To make matters worse, Robles injured his hand on the play and was held out of Wednesday’s lineup.

Both mistakes went far beyond the usual TOOTBLAN (getting thrown on base like an idiot), but that kind of baseball has been the trademark of the Mariners this season (1977-75), as they find themselves fighting for a playoff spot despite having one of the best rotations in baseball and being acquired at the trade deadline.