After the game, Rodríguez explained that, in the moment, his instinct was to get out of the way out of the bat. He did think, however, that third-base umpire Jeremy Rehak would rule it to be a dead ball, making his excursion away from the bag a non-issue.

A flying bat helped the Yankees clinch a playoff spot on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Park. Anthony Rizzo, who had two hits and two RBIs, drove in Jasson Dominguez with a double to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead, which they did not relinquish.

Julio Rodriguez apologized to Dan Wilson for his mistake, the Mariners manager said Thursday. “I really respect him for that, and we had a good conversation.”