The Mets have been battling self-inflicted wounds for years. But even for them, this was different.
A foul popup with the bases loaded and one out fell to the ground in the fourth inning of Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Brewers when third baseman Wilmer Flores was interfered with by a ball boy for the opposing team, who just so happens to be a Mets employee.
Initially, Eric Sogard was called out and the play ruled as interference. But after huddling together, the call was reversed, because the umpires decided it was unintentional. Mets manager Terry Collins came out to argue and got tossed, though Sogard grounded into a double play after the ejection.
Milwaukee batboy bet the Brewers to beat the Mets today. pic.twitter.com/RQYTYWzUWG
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) June 1, 2017
Flores was in position to make an easy grab of the foul ball near the Brewers’ dugout, when the ball boy hit Flores’s arm while attempting to get out of the way.
“My issue was it’s a routine catch. It would be one thing if it’s a difficult play,” Collins said. “That was my argument. We might have three or four guys next week running in all different directions.”
The ball boy, a Mets employee described as a “regular” by visiting clubhouse manager Tony Carullo, wasn’t made available to the media. According to Carullo, his name is Mendy. The Mets wouldn’t give out his last name.
“The kid’s embarrassed,” Carullo said. “He tried to get out of the way. Honest mistake.”
Fortunately for the Mets and their employee, the play didn’t hurt them. After Collins was ejected, Zack Wheeler induced Sogard to hit into a 6-4-3 double play, ending the threat.
“Ball don’t lie,” Flores said with a smile. “We got a double-play ball.”
“You can’t get mad at him,” Flores added. “He was trying to get out of the way. But he was going the wrong way. … I do know him. I’m sure we’ll talk about it later. We’ll joke about it. We didn’t get hurt in that inning, so it was good.”
It wouldn’t matter, though, because the Mets only could muster four hits. One of those was a Flores solo homer in the eighth off Brewers reliever Jacob Barnes that continued his torrid stretch.
Over his past 20 games, Flores is hitting .400 with 10 RBIs. And with the way third baseman Jose Reyes is struggling at the plate, now batting just .193 and in the midst of a 3-for-29 drought, Flores could start seeing more time at the hot corner.
“I’m not the one who makes that choice, but I’m ready to play,” Flores said.