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Mariners, Cardinals shocked by fan's mid-play dash

MLB.com

You never know what you may see at a ballpark on any given night. Like, say, a flag-draped fan running onto the field mid-play.

It happened in Seattle on Saturday, when an over-exuberant Mariners fan jumped over Safeco Field's center-field wall and nearly interrupted Seth Smith's attempt to catch Matt Carpenter's fly ball. The out was recorded, the fan was ejected, and everybody involved in the bizarre incident from a baseball perspective could only shake their heads in bewilderment.

"I've never seen that before, especially when the ball was hit right there," Mariners reliever Mike Montgomery, who pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings in the Mariners' 5-4 win over the Cardinals and witnessed the incident from the bullpen, told Adam Jude of the Seattle Times.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Though Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters Smith said he began to "freak out" upon seeing the fan, the outfielder - who kept his comments to a minimum - appeared nonplussed by the whole thing as it happened.

"I saw him, but I threw it in and thankfully it didn't affect the play," the outfielder said, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com.

While many might see the incident as funny in some respects - even the Mariners Twitter account had a bit of fun with it - players and managers on both teams didn't quite see it that way. Mariners starter Nate Karns was pitching during the play and unleashed a prolonged rant against this kind of behavior, noting that "he could have got someone hurt."

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny seemed thankful the out was recorded, even though it went against his team. He wasn't sure what would have happened if the fan had somehow disrupted Smith's attempt, or even his relay throw in.

"If he interferes with a fielder, I don't know what they're going to do. It's going to be a mess," Matheny explained. "He was already committed (before the ball was hit). I don't even know if he knew what state he was in. He had already jumped the fence and started his trek to fame and fortune before he even knew where that ball was going to be."

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