Rock bottom. No, not The Rock’s pro wrestling finishing move. That actually won him a lot of championships and helped him become one of the biggest stars in wrestling and eventually Hollywood. In sports, rock bottom is the absolute pits. The worst of the worst. The feeling where you don’t think a season can’t get any lower than it’s been, but it does. For the 2023 New York Mets, their rock bottom happened on a Sunday afternoon rubber game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets have played sloppy and inconsistent baseball for most of the season. The sloppiness is what really has surprised many in the organization, and it was on full display by the Mets in the 8th inning in Philadelphia.
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How an 8th Inning in Philadelphia Defined the 2023 New York Mets
For further context, the Mets owned the Phillies last year, posting a 14-5 record against them. This includes throwing a no-hitter and having two incredible comebacks at Citizens Bank Park. In those games, the Phillies were the ones playing sloppy baseball. Yet, it was the Phillies who would end up in the World Series while the Mets got bounced out in the Wild Card series. Sports can work that way sometimes. This game saw both starting pitchers, the Mets’ Carlos Carrasco and the Phillies’ Zack Wheeler, struggle. New York jumped out to a 6-3 lead with home runs by Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso leading the way. Carrasco was out after four innings of work and the Mets bullpen had to take over. They were asked to once again take over a game where their starter couldn’t go more than five innings.
Mets 8th Inning Opens with a Pair of Walks
New York’s bullpen got off to a nice start in their first three innings of work. Combined, Dominic Leone and Grant Hartwig pitched three scoreless frames and preserved the Mets’ lead. Then the bottom 0f the 8th came along. Lefty Josh Walker, who has been reliable since getting the call to the big leagues, relieved Hartwig and didn’t get anybody out. That included walking two left-handed batters, Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott. In the middle of those two hitters, J.T. Realmuto hit a single into left field. Remember that hit. The bases were loaded with nobody out and manager Buck Showalter made a pitching change to right-hander Jeff Brigham.
More Bad Mistakes Prove Costly
Brigham was asked to protect a three-run lead with the bases now loaded and no outs recorded. He almost got the job done. As a matter of fact, he probably should have. However, in a season where the Mets have made way too many mistakes, the team’s coveted rookie third baseman made a big blunder. Alec Bohm grounded into what should’ve been an easy double play ball, but Baty didn’t have a grip on the ball, hesitated, and threw a poor pass to Jeff McNeil. Baty took responsibility after the game.
Brett Baty comments on the error he made during today’s game:
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 25, 2023
“I just couldn’t get it out of my glove. There really is no excuse, that play needs to be made 10/10 times. It cost us the game, cost us the series, and it cost us a lot of momentum we had coming in from yesterday” pic.twitter.com/qoJ9W53yoI
It wasn’t the first run the Phillies scored that afternoon on a Mets defensive mistake. In the bottom of the 5th, catcher Omar Narváez tried to throw out Trea Turner stealing third, but the ball was low and went into left field, scoring Turner. That cut the Mets’ lead to 4-3. After Baty’s error, Brigham walked Brandon Marsh, scoring Realmuto to cut the lead to one. He then struck out Kody Clemens for the first out of the inning, and what should’ve been the last. Without Baty’s error, closer David Robertson could’ve had the chance to hold a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the 9th inning, but it was not to be.
Back-To-Back Hit by Pitches Doom the Mets
Brigham would have to face Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to escape the inning. Not only would he not escape the inning, not only would he give up the lead, but he also didn’t allow a hit. Schwarber and Turner didn’t put the ball in play. Instead, they were both hit by Brigham’s sliders to tie it and then give the Phillies a 7-6 lead.
After Turner was hit, Showalter took out Brigham for Vinny Nittoli. What did Nittoli do? He struck out Nick Castellanos swinging and got Harper to fly out to center field. In only his second appearance, he got the Mets out of a nightmare inning. The Mets would then option Nittoli back to Triple-A a few days later. Remember that Realmuto single? In the Phillies’ four-run bottom of the 8th, that was the only hit they recorded. Besides the hit, they got on base with walks, hit by pitches, and an error. You could not make it up.
The 2023 Mets in One Inning
In the top of the 9th, New York would get the tying run on base, but they were unable to capitalize. They let a game and a series win completely get away from them. When you think about the 2023 Mets, that 8th inning should be the first thing to come to mind. Guys not executing and making bad mistakes, not throwing strikes, and just not playing good fundamental baseball. It was the kind of moment where you have no idea how a team could come back from it. For the 2023 New York Mets, it was rock bottom.
Photo Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Players Mentioned: Carlos Carrasco, Zack Wheeler, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Dominic Leone, Grant Hartwig, Josh Walker, Bryce Harper, Bryson Stott, J.T. Realmuto, Jeff Brigham, Alec Bohm, Jeff McNeil, Omar Narvaez, Trea Turner, Brandon Marsh, Kody Clemens, David Robertson, Kyle Schwarber, Vinny Nittoli, Nick Castellanos
Managers Mentioned: Buck Showalter
