The New York Mets were looking for a convincing gentleman’s sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers entering the final contest of their four-game series in LA. Unfortunately, Francisco Lindor was sidelined by injury for the matchup. Still, the Mets had the lead late before a fielding error cost them.
Third baseman Brett Baty committed the error that allowed the Dodgers to tie the game. LA went on to win 6-5, salvaging a 2-2 split in the series.
After the game, Baty spoke to reporters about his frustration with the loss. “It’s brutal, for sure. We were up going into the 8th there and then that play right there tied it up. It’s brutal, for sure,” Baty said, per SNY on X.
Brett Baty commits costly error for Mets
The Mets got a quality start from David Peterson, who allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks with six strikeouts in seven innings. The Mets took a 5-3 advantage into the bottom of the eighth inning. But a Will Smith double brought the Dodgers within a run.
Then, with Smith on third, Andy Pages stepped in with Reed Garrett on the mound. Pages grounded to third and Smith broke for home. Baty easily fielded the ball but he double clutched on his attempt to throw it home, seemingly having trouble getting the ball out of his glove. He then threw in the dirt, short-hopping catcher Francisco Alvarez.
Article Continues BelowThe ball popped up in the air and Garrett, who was backing the play up, grabbed it. But when he spun around and attempted to tag the runner, he collided with Alvarez, who was standing between the pitcher and home plate.
Smith slid feet first and tied the game on an embarrassing play that was scored E6. While the throw was certainly off, it was a comedy of errors for the Mets from Alvarez’s failure to coral the poor toss to Garrett and the catcher bumping into each other.
Michael Conforto later hit an RBI single off Garrett to score Pages and give the Dodgers a 6-5 lead. LA would hold on to win the game with a strong ninth inning from Tanner Scott.
Baty had looked much improved since his return to the Mets lineup from a stint in Triple-A. However, he’s cooled off considerably of late. And now an eighth inning error cost New York a game.
On the plus side for the Mets, Alonso continued rolling Thursday. After hammering two home runs against the Dodgers in the previous game, Alonso went deep again for his 15th homer of the season. He now leads the majors with 55 RBI.
