In this season of Derek Jeter tributes, Andrelton Simmons provided his own on Wednesday, and it helped cost the Mets a game.
The Atlanta shortstop made a spectacular play with the tying run on third base and two out in the eighth inning of the Braves 3-2 win over the Mets at Citi Field.
Travis d’Arnaud hit a ball deep into the hole to Simmons’ right with Curtis Granderson on third and Simmons went into left field, grabbed it and fired to first in time to get the catcher.
“It reminded me of Jeter,” said Zack Wheeler, who took the loss in part because the Mets couldn’t tie the game in that spot. “Just going in the hole, jumping and throwing.”
“It’s kind of expected now,” d’Arnaud said of Simmons. “Whenever I hit it there, I just put my head down and run.”
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Though there were other differences in the game, none was more glaring than the one at shortstop, where Ruben Tejada made a crucial error on a fairly routine grounder by Evan Gattis with two outs in the third that allowed Atlanta to score its third run.
“That made the difference in the game,” Tejada said.
Tejada had a chance to redeem himself in the bottom of the ninth as the Mets threatened against Braves closer Craig Kimbrel.
Eric Campbell led off with a single and Matt den Dekker followed with a walk. Wilmer Flores bunted them over, bringing up Tejada.
Tejada grounded to third with the infield in and Phil Gosselin easily threw out Campbell at home. Pinch-hitter Kirk Nieuwenhuis popped to left to end it.
The rest of the lineup wasn’t much better. D’Arnaud, who was demoted earlier in the season, was in the cleanup spot for the Mets. He went 0-for-4.
But as manager Terry Collins said before the game, his placement in the heart of the order mostly the process of elimination.
“Did I have a lot of options?” said Collins, who was once again without the injured David Wright (neck) and Daniel Murphy (calf).
One name that likely wasn’t mentioned was Curtis Granderson’s. He remains in a prolonged funk. Granderson, who went 0-for-3, is 15-for-97 with 17 strikeouts and 11 walks in August.
“He can get really, really hot and then cool off,” Collins said. “Right now, he’s not getting some hits. He’s not striking out, he’s just not doing the damage you think he’s going to do.”
Collins said he doesn’t anticipate moving Granderson out of the leadoff spot, but admitted the Mets have “got to get him going again.”
The lack of production made for a nearly impossible task for Wheeler, who has been excellent since the end of June.
Wheeler — who allowed three runs, two earned, in seven innings — surrendered a leadoff home run to Jason Heyward before Flores tied the game with two outs in the second with a homer.
But Wheeler couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes — yet he did.
In the third, Gosselin had a one-out bunt single to spark a rally. Freddie Freeman followed with a double to left and Gosselin — which proved to be the last hit allowed by Wheeler — and then scored on Justin Upton’s groundout.
Tejada’s error allowed the final run to score.
After Flores’ blast over the left-field wall, Julio Teheran retired the next seven batters he faced before Flores drew a walk in the fifth.
Then came the eighth and Simmons’ eye-catching play.
“I saw in the dugout he was out,” Collins said. “I’d like to go out and challenge it. … But I know he’s out, so all I’m doing is delaying the game.”