Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. admits he didn't know double-play rule in extra-innings loss to Rays

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The New York Yankees on Saturday suffered their fourth straight loss -- this one a 5-4 defeat to the Tampa Bay Rays in extras. Ensuring that the frustrating loss, and the team's declining fortunes, would stick in the headlines for a while was infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s puzzling explanation of his game-ending misplay.

With the game tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the 10th, the Rays had the bases loaded with one out and Jonathan Aranda at the plate. With outfielder Cody Bellinger brought in to give the Yankees a five-man infield, Aranda put an 0-1 splitter from Yankees closer David Bednar weakly in play. Here's what happened next:

Chisholm appeared to have in mind the proper play, which would have been to tag Yandy Díaz and then hurry the ball to first to extinguish Aranda, one of the slowest runners in the game, for an inning-ending double play. Chisholm, however, wasn't able to field the ball cleanly, which allowed Chandler Simpson to score the winning run with ease.

That's a loss that sticks in the craw, but soon after, mere frustration turned into something more akin to embarrassment, as Chisholm's post-game comments revealed he didn't understand the rules in that particular situation:

The money quote from Chisholm:

"I was really going to go try to tag the runner and just throw it to first. I don't know what the rule is. If I went to first base first and threw it back to second, if it's still an out. Is it still a double play? I don't know. Does it count as not an RBI?"

Points for the self-effacing candor, perhaps, but it's not an ideal situation when a player at the highest level of baseball is asking reporters to explain a fairly basic rules situation. In the scenario that Chisholm presented, getting the out at first would've removed any force play on Díaz. That, in turn, would've required the Yankees to tag Díaz out before Simpson -- one of the fastest runners in the game -- touched the plate. That was an impossibility.

Outfielder Trent Grishman, seated nearby in the visitor's clubhouse, clarified the situation for Chisholm: "No, they'll score. They'll get there before the tag occurs at second."

If there's any comfort for Yankees fans, it's that Chisholm's instinct to tag Díaz before making the throw to Ben Rice at first base was the correct one, even if the misplay didn't allow it to happen. Not knowing the relevant rule didn't affect his play, but it was certainly an unfortunate look for both Chisholm and the Yankees.

As for the Yankees, they're now 8-6 on the year after a 7-1 start. They still cling to first place in the American League East going into Sunday's series finale against the Rays. The Rays are now 7-7 and trail the Yankees by one game in the standings.