It was a play that caused one to think, “I wonder if that will come back into play later on?”
In the top of the second, with two runners on, Asdrubal Cabrera hit what looked like his first home run of the season. It would have given the Mets and Bartolo Colón an early 3-0 lead. But a dinger it was not. Upon review, the umpiring crew determined that, as the ball descended, it hit a fan’s glove before it hit the top of the wall and bounced over the fence. Three runs turned into one as the home run transformed into a ground rule double. The Mets added one more in the inning, but they still came away with one fewer run that they thought they would.
The thing about the play is that there was nobody to be mad at. The ball probably would have been a home run without interference, as the misdirection was ever so slight. Reaching for a ball is only natural, so the fan can’t be blamed. Perhaps if it were at Citi Field and a Mets fan caused the turn, things would be different. Not only that, but the umpires really did get the call right. The fan touched it—it was the right call. If the fan whiffed, there would not have been a call to make, and it would have meant an extra run.
This turn of events lingered. In the bottom of the second, Freddy Galvis tied the game with a two-run home run to left center field. The Phillies took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Colón walked Ryan Howard, and Carlos Ruiz followed it up with a single. With two on and nobody out, Galvis grounded out to second base. A double play was possible, but the Mets couldn’t turn it. David Lough brought Howard home with a sacrifice fly. A strong throw home might have had a shot to get the slow-footed Howard, but Curtis Granderson didn’t attempt it; he lobbed the ball to second base. The fourth ended with the Phillies ahead 3-2.
The Mets took the lead in the fifth inning with a couple of impressive homers. First, Yoenis Céspedes tied the game with a swing of the bat, taking a hanging breaking ball from Jeremy Hellickson out to left field. The next batter, Lucas Duda, outdid Céspedes’ laser shot and knocked one into the second deck in right field. Neil Walker followed with a hard hit single, and that was enough to drive Hellickson from the game.
The Phillies tied the game at four in the seventh. Jerry Blevins relieved Colón and gave up a double to Lough to start the inning. After recording an out, Addison Reed gave up a Peter Bourjos single, which tied the game with two outs in the seventh. Neither the Mets nor the Phillies were able to score again through nine, which meant that the phantom run from the second did end up mattering—that, and free baseball.
After an uneventful 10th, the Mets had a chance in the top of the 11th. Granderson leads off with a walk. David Wright, who struck out four times in a tough night, skied a fly ball to deep center field. Granderson took the chance to tag and make it to second standing. Strikeouts killed the inning though, as Michael Conforto and Céspedes struck out to end the inning.
The Phillies took advantage in the bottom half of the eleventh. After a Galvis double and an intentional walk, Hansel Robles threw a wild pitch to put runners on second and third with one out. In an odd moment, Robles threw two intentional balls to Emmanuel Burris—unintentionally. Catcher Travis d’Arnaud got back into the squat to finish up the at bat. Robles got Burris to fly out, but the game ended with the next batter. Lough scored on a Bourjos infield single to third base. David Wright’s effortful attempt to get Bourjos at first base wasn’t that close. The Phillies won it 5-4 and avoided the sweep.
Mets Star, by WPA: Antonio Bastardo, .235
Mets Unstar, by WPA: David Wright, -.228
Next up: Thursday is an off day, and action picks up again on Friday against the Braves in Atlanta.
Photo credit: Bill Streicher – USA Today Sports