A big defensive blunder by New York Mets outfielder Starling Marte in the fourth inning of Saturday's London game against the Philadelphia Phillies has people buzzing. With Edmundo Sosa facing a 1-2 count with two outs and two runners in scoring position, the Phillies shortstop made contact with the ball which should have been an easy flyout. But Marte seemingly miscalculated the ball's direction, as it dropped in front of him. That blunder led to a run scored for Philly to take the 2-1 lead. (Bryce Harper had scored Philadelphia's first run of the game earlier in the inning.)
It did not stop there, as the floodgates appeared to open up for the Phillies' offense. They scored four more runs before the fourth inning concluded.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, however, said that the sun played a role in Marte's error.
“They were having a hard time seeing the ball off the bat, especially in that particular time with the sun coming down and the roof there,” Mendoza told reporters following the Mets' 7-2 loss to Philadelphia (h/t
Lucas Hutcherson of SNY).
“It's hard to pick it up, that's the explanation that I got from Marte and [Harrison] Bader…for the first couple of innings especially the third, fourth inning they couldn't see the ball off the bat,” Mendoza added.
Marte also shed light on that pivotal moment that turned the tide completely in Philadelphia's favor.
“It was difficult to see, I kind of had to wait for the ball to get out of the shadow where it was,” Marte said through an interpreter.
Marte went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the opener of this short two-leg series in London, but that just wasn't enough to keep the Mets from losing their first game in four outings.
Sean Manaea picked up the pitching loss for the Mets with six earned runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings of work.
Marte and the Mets will look to atone for their poor performance on Saturday when they play the finale of this Phillies series this Sunday (10 p.m. Eastern Time).
Starling Marte's gaffe in Mets vs. Phillies stirs the internet
“Starling Marte had a 95% catch probability on this RBI single from Edmundo Sosa. He jogs after it, the ball drops, and the Phillies explode for a six-run inning. His -8 OAA is the worst among all outfielders in MLB this season,” said James Schiano.
From X user @Jolly_Olive: “Even with Starling Marte swinging better, an MLB RF needs to catch this ball. Game could still be 1-1”
From Anthony DiComo of MLB.com: “For those noting that much of the damage this inning came after Starling Marte failed to catch this Edmundo Sosa two-out single…Marte entered today ranked last among qualified MLB outfielders in Outs Above Average, with -8. He was 261st out of 263 players at any position.”
“Starling Marte has been the worst defensive right fielder this year by Outs Above Average. Going to guess that number is going to get worse after his play today,” posted @Metsmerized.
“That play is one where you see how Starling Marte is hurting the Mets defensively. Edmundo Sosa's RBI single had an xBA of .140. Marte needs to catch that ball and the Mets are out of the inning. He doesn't, the inning continues, and now a three-run homer,” said Ryan Finkelstein of Locked On Mets.
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