A failed suicide attempt left the Braves without a golden opportunity Thursday in what ultimately turned into an error-filled extra-inning loss to the Mets.
Outfielder Ramon Laureano, who later overcame Jeff McNeil’s walk-off single in a 3-2 loss, was caught between third base and home plate after Jarred Kelenic failed to attempt to bunt a pitch far out of the zone, resulting in Laureano being tagged for the second out in a tied game in the 10th inning.
“I don’t know what that was, honestly,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said when asked about Laureano’s read. “You’re going to have to ask them. He didn’t have anything. We don’t normally bunt in that situation, but he was trying to score a run, and we had two pretty good hitters coming up, I thought.
“That is unacceptable.”
Laureano and Kelenic attempted the squeeze play apparently on their own with one out and a runner on third base, followed by Austin Riley, Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson.
Kelenic faced off before Mets reliever Phil Maton threw the pitch and Maton threw a high, outside pitch that would have been quite difficult, if not impossible, to get a fair bunt on.
However, with a safety squeeze, Kelenic must at least attempt to make contact to prevent his runner from getting stuck in no man’s land, which is exactly what happened.
“I think it’s pretty simple,” Kelenic said, according to MLB.com. “I think I just have to swing the bat. I was trying to do too much. I think that’s all there is to it.”
It seemed like Laureano had a chance to return to third base, but he hesitated on his return to third base and was knocked out.
During the play, Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez took offense to a hit on Laureano’s shoulder, but neither side was overly upset after the play.
The baserunning error was the second in two innings by the struggling Braves.
In the ninth, free agent Whit Merrifield was also thrown out while trying to steal third base, though the Mets’ broadcast booth disagreed with the umpires’ review.
“If you’re not scoring, you can’t get outs on the bases that way,” Snitker said.
Laureano, a 2020 Gold Glove-nominated outfielder, compounded his miserable night in the bottom of the inning when he beat out McNeil’s game-winning single with a fly ball to right field.
“It’s hard to win on the road by scoring a run,” Snitker said. “When you’re not scoring runs, you have to play clean baseball.”
For the Mets, it’s their fourth straight win and third over projected playoff teams, though neither the Yankees nor the Braves are playing particularly solid baseball right now.
The Reds just swept Atlanta in a two-game series and Atlanta has now lost five straight games.
The Mets’ (54-48) winning streak puts them a half-game behind Atlanta for the top wild-card spot with three games remaining in this four-game series.
They’ll send Kodai Senga to the mound Friday for his season debut against Charlie Morton with a chance to get past the Braves.
