Marcus Semien's inability to make 'tough play' cost Mets in one-run loss
· Yahoo Sports
With runners on second and third with one out and the Mets' infield drawn in down by a run to the Rockies in the seventh inning, Sean Manaea threw a first pitch fastball to Troy Johnston who pounced on it and rocketed it towards second baseman Marcus Semien.
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A little to his right, the gold glove second baseman couldn't quite corral the ball hit 102.9 mph off the bat and it trickled into center field to score two runs and extend Colorado's lead.
That play ended up being the difference in the game after New York scored two in the eighth to make it 4-3. They would not get any closer thanks to an unlucky lineout double play (107.7 mph off the bat) by Mark Vientos to end the rally.
"Your reaction time is key," Semien said after the game about the play. "I didn’t get to it unfortunately and that ended up being the difference in the game, two-run single there right past me. It’s a tough play."
It was certainly a tough play -- a hot shot off the bat -- but one that Semien would have loved to make.
"I’d love to get every ball that’s hit anywhere near me but I didn’t make the play," he said.
While not an easy play, it's the kind of play the Mets brought Semien, an excellent defender still at the age of 35, in to make after David Stearns prioritized run prevention over the offseason. Fair or not, it's also a play that Semien needs to make while he continues to provide very little offensively. (He was the only player in the starting lineup not to get a hit on Friday and is hitting .228 with a .602 OPS.)
Manager Carlos Mendoza was asked about that key moment in the game and if he thought Semien should have made that play. While the skipper said he'd have to take another look, he defended Semien with the difficulty of the play.
"I will have to look," he said. "It was 102 [mph off the bat], playing the infield in, 102 to his right. Any time you’re in that infield in and the ball is hit hard at you, and if it’s not right at you, it’s going to be a tough one there."