Carlos Mendoza made his first big mistake of the season and it cost the Mets a win, now he has to avoid making same mistake again
The New York Mets' seven game winning streak came to an end on Friday night thanks to a 5-4 walk-off loss to the Washington Nationals. New York's loss on Friday night was particularly painful because the Mets battled back from a three-run deficit to take a 4-3 lead before giving up two runs in the […]
The New York Mets' seven game winning streak came to an end on Friday night thanks to a 5-4 walk-off loss to the Washington Nationals.
New York's loss on Friday night was particularly painful because the Mets battled back from a three-run deficit to take a 4-3 lead before giving up two runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Washington scored the game-winning run on a RBI single from outfielder James Wood.
Wood hit a ball up the middle that was booted by Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil, which allowed shortstop CJ Abrams to score the game-winning run from first base.
That play could've easily been scored as an error on McNeil. It's a play that's usually made at the big-league level. And if Mets manager Carlos Mendoza would've made the right call going into the bottom of the ninth inning, it probably would've been made.
Mendoza, for some bizarre reason, left infielder Luisangel Acuña on the bench in a one-run game in the bottom of the ninth inning. Acuña is a far superior fielder to McNeil and likely makes that play in his sleep (I'm not trying to throw shade at McNeil here, errors and misplays happen, these guys are human).
Acuña, who has dazzled with his defense in recent weeks, normally would've been in the game in that situation. McNeil, however, returned to the Mets' lineup on Friday after missing the first month of the season due to injury.
That's the part that makes Mendoza's decision to leave Acuña on the bench even more confusing.
McNeil has barely played in the big leagues over the last eight months. The 33-year-old utilityman missed the final month of the 2024 regular season before seeing 17 innings of action in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs last year. Friday night was his first regular-season game since September 6, 2024.
There was no need to keep McNeil in the game in the ninth inning. And it cost the Mets a chance to get the game to extra innings.
It's early in the season, but a win in April counts the same in the standings as a win in September. Mendoza fell asleep at the wheel and cost the Mets on Friday night by failing to utilize his entire roster and subsequently leaving one of his best defenders on the bench in a tight game.
That's a mistake that Mendoza can't let happen again. McNeil is a good player, and he's going to help the Mets win some games this season, but Acuña's biggest strength is his glove. Leaving him on the bench to watch McNeil boot a grounder is equivalent to leaving Jesse Winker, or any other notable hitter, on the bench to watch Jose Azocar bat in the ninth inning against a righty with the go-ahead run on base.
Wouldn't make much sense, would it?
