The 0.7 Inches That Cost The Mets Everything, And Nobody In The League Is Ready For It
Man, what a night for the Mets. They dropped a tough 5-3 game to the Reds on Tuesday, and honestly, it felt like they shot themselves in the foot early on. Not only did their bats go ice cold, hitting a dismal 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranding a whopping 11 guys on base for the third straight game, but they also blew through their ABS challenges way too fast. And trust me, that came back to bite them HARD.
"Super Aggressive" Challenges That Came Up Short
You gotta wonder what they were thinking out there. First up, in the very first inning, Francisco Alvarez tried to bail out Kodai Senga. Senga had already walked the first batter, and JJ Bleday was up with a 2-1 count. Alvarez, trying to make it a 2-2 instead of 3-1, asked for a challenge on a cutter that Bleday didn't bite on. The pitch missed by just 0.7 inches. That's it! Alvarez himself admitted after the game, "I thought in challenging that one instead of having a 3-1 count, it could be a 2-2 count and I think it makes a big difference there." But Senga ended up walking Bleday anyway, and the Reds cashed in for a four-run first inning. Talk about starting behind the eight ball.
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Then, an inning later, Marcus Semien doubled down on the aggression. With two outs and nobody on, he challenged a 1-2 pitch. The result? A called third strike from a Brady Singer sinker that clipped the outside corner. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was clear about it, saying, "We were super aggressive today. Essentially, you lose that first one right there early, a little too much there. We got to do a better job. That’s something we’ll continue to talk to the guys about it.” He acknowledged the players are "competing," but you gotta have some situational awareness, right?
No Challenges Left, Manager Tossed
And that lack of awareness absolutely crushed them in a crucial spot. In the sixth, Mark Vientos smacked a two-run shot to pull them within two, 5-3. Alvarez then walked, bringing Carson Benge to the plate as the potential tying run. What happened next? Benge struck out looking on four pitches, but the called strikes, especially the third one, looked noticeably low. With no challenges left, that was it. Opportunity gone, just like that. Mendoza was absolutely livid, and you can't blame him.
That frustration boiled over into the bottom of the seventh. After Bleday walked again, home plate umpire Carlos Torres tossed someone from the Mets dugout. Mendoza stormed out to figure out what was going on and got himself ejected too. He explained, "It was a quick one there. Somebody said something from the dugout and Carlos just threw someone out. No one knew who it was and that’s when I jumped out of the dugout. I wasn’t pleased with the strike zone, especially with the Benge at-bat there. Went back and looked at some of the pitches. I wasn’t happy about it. Again, I know it’s a tough job there, but that’s all to it.” You just can't afford to waste those challenges. The Mets better figure this out quick, especially with another game against the Reds on Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, our boys in teal just handled their business, taking down the Orioles 3-1! Let's go M's!
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.