Astros' Gattis thinks he grounds out, kick-starts strange Mariners triple play

Houston Astros designated hitter Evan Gattis was left with egg on his face after committing one of the worst baserunning blunders in recent memory - one that cost his team three outs in the process.

In the fourth inning of the Astros' game against the Seattle Mariners, Gattis - batting with runners on first and second with nobody out - sent a check-swing grounder up the third-base line, where Kyle Seager forced out No. 1 by stepping on third, and then tossing to Robinson Cano at second for out No. 2.

While all that happened, Gattis lost track of how many outs there were in the inning and slowly jogged across the infield to the dugout even though he had reached safely. The Mariners quickly picked up on Gattis' gaffe, and by that point he was standing beside the pitcher's mound. Though he left the base line and was automatically out, the official scorer ruled it a 5-4-3 triple play since Dan Vogelbach did place a tag on Gattis.

Somewhere, Ruben Rivera - who's long held the unofficial title of worst baserunning performance ever - is smiling, because Gattis might have finally let him off the hook.

This was the 12th triple play in Mariners franchise history, per the SABR Triple Play Database, and their first since they turned another bizarre trifecta against Toronto in 2015.