Seattle Mariners Suffered Weird Luck on the Bases in Saturday Game
The Seattle Mariners have had some of the weirdest and unfortunate luck on the bases over the last week.
Whether it's just been a series of freak plays, players being overzealous while trying to win critical games with playoff implications or someone casting a curse, the Mariners have had some of the rarest and most unfortunate plays with runners on.
First, with two outs and Justin Turner at the plate with a 3-0 count, Victor Robles tried to steal home and was tagged out at the plate during a game against the New York Yankees on Tuesday. One day later, Julio Rodriguez, who represented the game-tying run at third base with nobody out in the bottom of the 10th, sprinted out of the way of a wayward bat that flew out of the hands of his teammate Randy Arozarena. The play was live and Rodriguez was tagged out at third. Both those games were losses but Rodriguez's error mattered a lot more. Seattle lost 11-2 on Wednesday and 2-1 on Thursday.
Julio Rodriguez nearly got decapitated and forgot he still needs to get back to third base @StoolBaseball
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 19, 2024
pic.twitter.com/sJrTjVU8Rx
And then on Saturday, during Game 2 of a three-game series against the Texas Rangers, the Mariners got another string of bad luck with Luke Raley on the bases.
During the top of the fifth inning and the game tied 2-2, Raley attempted to steal second base and looked like he was successful.
But, for reasons that weren't explained initially on the ROOT Sports broadcast, Raley returned to first. He was forced out in the next at-bat after Jorge Polanco grounded into an inning-ending double play.
When the broadcast returned in the bottom of the fifth inning, it was explained that home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez sent Raley back to first base because Rangers catcher Carson Kelly's arm contacted Gonzalez while making the throw attempt to second base.
Seattle did receive some good luck later in the game when Robles (pinch running for Polanco) stole third and promptly sprinted home without breaking stride on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth on a wild pitch.
Unlike Tuesday, Robles was safe at home and helped spark a three-run inning that iced an 8-4 win for the Mariners.
"never let them know your next move" -victor robles, probably 😂 pic.twitter.com/cQ4fMTIFmC
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 22, 2024
Seattle's base running has been great since Dan Wilson was hired as manager on Aug. 22. But the last week has featured some of the rarest and most unfortunate plays that will likely have playoff implications by the end of the year.
The Mariners will likely hope that Robles score on the wild pitch breaks that bad luck streak.
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