Mets’ Carlos Mendoza hopes brutal triple play call leads to more instant replay

WASHINGTON — If the Mets could take any positive Saturday from the missed call a night earlier that may have played a significant role in the game’s outcome, it’s the idea MLB will remove the shackles on instant replay.

To manager Carlos Mendoza, it was obvious from the dugout that Jesse Winker’s shot to first base in the fourth inning hit the ground.

But first base umpire Alfonso Márquez ruled the ball was caught by Nathaniel Lowe, starting a triple play that literally took the Mets right out of the inning.

Before the Mets’ 2-0 win over the Nationals on Saturday, Mendoza — whose Mets lost 5-4 a night earlier — said he hadn’t spoken to MLB about the call.

But his expectation was he would have a conversation at some point with Michael Hill, the league’s senior vice president of on-field operations.

The play wasn’t reviewable by replay because the ball never left the infield.

“With a play that has so much impact on a game — you’re talking about a triple play; it’s first and second with nobody out — there has got to be some kind of consideration without removing the human element,” Mendoza said. “Hopefully situations like this will help moving forward for better decision-making.”

Among Mendoza’s complaints to umpires as he argued the call was Márquez’s positioning behind the play that didn’t provide an optimal view in trying to determine if the ball hit the ground. Mendoza wanted the umpires to convene on the field and discuss the call, but that never occurred.

Brandon Nimmo, the lead runner at second base on the play, said he saw a “little skip” on Winker’s shot to first base and that prompted him to start running.

Mark Vientos was running from first base behind him. Both were ruled out on Lowe’s throw to CJ Abrams at second base.

“I do wish it could be reviewed,” Nimmo said. “I wish that all catches could be reviewed. I get that it’s in the infield, but that play is happening in front of the first base umpire, where he really doesn’t have a great read on it. The only guy who really does is home plate and depending where the third base umpire is and maybe second. I really do wish those could be reviewed, regardless. It really would make things simpler.
“They have really taken the replay and minimized the time it takes so I don’t think it would add that much time to the game if you just say, ‘Hey, let’s check that out real quick.’”

Vientos partly blamed himself for his role but also acknowledged the obvious: Winker’s ball hit the ground.

“I messed up on that play, I should have frozen and went back to first base,” Vientos said. “You see the video, it did hit the dirt, but … that was bad baserunning by me.”

Vientos said he didn’t reach his decision to run based on Nimmo breaking for third.

“I was just going because I saw the ball coming at me real fast,” Vientos said. “My first reaction was to get to second base.”

Mendoza only can hope Friday’s missed call will lead to changes regarding instant replay rules.

“After the experience [Friday] night, going through that and knowing how it affects the game I think there’s got to be a conversation,” Mendoza said. “The rules are the rules, but hopefully if something like this keeps happening maybe they will revisit and make some changes.”