Diamondbacks backup catcher Adrian Del Castillo may need to go to the Keith Hernandez School of Baseball after missing a tag in the sixth inning of a tie game Wednesday night.
Del Castillo had plenty of time to replace Starling Marte, but he fumbled his replacement, allowing the Mets to take a one-run lead in their crushing 8-5 final loss in Phoenix.
“You have to catch the ball and cover the bag,” Hernandez added, radiating frustration at the backup catcher’s lack of a base. “It’s a la-di-da play. It’s right on the line. Go for it and you can block home plate after you get the ball.”
“It’s just a terrible label… terrible,” Hernandez concluded.
The Mets managed to come back from a 4-0 deficit to tie the score at 4-4 and had the speedy Marte on third base with one out when Pete Alonso launched a fly ball to left field.
Marte chased down outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s throw to the plate, which came in perfectly on a single hop and gave Del Castillo plenty of time to make the tag.
The Mets outfielder, however, managed to creatively get around the Diamondbacks catcher, who failed to get in front of home plate during the near-collision.
It’s hard to dispute that Marte would have been safe on the play had Del Castillo correctly played Gurriel’s perfect throw, as the ball beat the runner in time.
Del Castillo is not the Diamondbacks’ regular catcher, with regular catcher Gabriel Moreno being placed on injured reserve in early August.
“The pitch comes in and Marte is safe,” Mets announcer Gary Cohen said as Hernandez simultaneously intervened with a “bad tag.”
“A perfect throw from Gurriel on a leap toward the plate, but Marte is able to beat the tag with a head-first slide, and the Mets take the lead, 5-4.”
Marte’s creative attempt could have been the deciding factor in the match, but it was to no avail.
Mets relief pitcher Edwin Diaz imploded in the bottom of the eighth inning when he threw eight of his first 10 pitches for balls before serving up a game-tying grand slam to Corbin Carroll.
New York now sits four games behind the Atlanta Braves for the final wild-card spot as they send David Peterson to the mound Thursday afternoon in a must-win virtual game.
