Yankees Clinch Playoff Spot Thanks To Julio Rodriguez Base Running Mishap

The Yankees clinched a playoff spot with 10 games to spare Wednesday night, defeating the Mariners 2-1 in extra innings. The win did not come without controversy, however, as a strange play involving Seattle slugger Julio Rodriguez likely determined the outcome.

In the bottom of the 10th inning with no outs and runners on first and third, Rodriguez was the team’s automatic runner and seemed to have a solid chance of scoring the tying run.

On a 2-1 count, Mariners batter Randy Arozarena lost his grip on the bat and sent it flying right at Rodriguez down the third base line. Rodriguez ran further into foul territory to dodge the bat and took a few moments to gather himself. He did not realize that the play was still live, however, and the Yankees capitalized by picking him off at third. The Mariners did not score and suffered their second loss to New York this week.

“I just saw a bat flying up to my face and I just ran away from it,” Rodriguez said after the game. “And after that, I was just in a little bit of shock, and I didn’t get back to third base in time … After I saw the bat, I thought it was going to be a dead play.”

When bats enter the field and impact the result of a play, they most often interfere with fielders trying to get an out. It is very rare that a bat in play interferes without the ball getting hit, which might explain why the rules do not specify any dead-ball procedure for this sort of instance. Rodriguez reacted to the bat in the same way that he would have if a foul ball had been hit in his direction, which would have given him time to return to the base without incident.

Regardless of the circumstances, the Yankees are now a playoff team that is guaranteed a Wild Card spot at least. With the Orioles struggling late in the season, it is likely that the Yanks will hang on to win the A.L. East division as well. At one point, that seemed inevitable, but New York hasn’t been sharp in the second half either.

Besides slugging outfielders Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, the Yankees have had a frustrating season in which they have oscillated between World Series contender and completely ineffective.

The team’s starting rotation tailed off after a hot start, and Clay Holmes has performed so badly as a closer that the team has had to assume a committee approach to close out games. Against the Mariners on Wednesday, he gave up the game-tying run in the eighth to force extras. Injuries to Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton also crippled the lineup for a time. Between June and August, the Yankees went 39-38 after beginning the season 40-19.

The Yankees have reached an uneasy equilibrium in September to earn some semblance of their former status as a legitimate playoff contender. It seems like every team in the league has weaknesses this year, and thus parity may also help in October. While many of these squads face off in meaningful games to finish out the season, New York will wrap up with a postseason berth in hand and and a growing division lead.