Sad News: New York Met’ Carlos Mendoza has step down from his duty as the manager after a heated argument with……Read more

In Friday night’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, the New York Mets weren’t the only underperforming team.

The Mets had to deal with an all-around poor performance from home plate umpire Ramon De Jesus in a brutal 8-4 loss to the NL Central champions that dealt a severe blow to their playoff hopes; given the significance of the game, it’s hardly surprising that the team was incensed by a highly inconsistent strike zone.

Of the twelve erroneous calls De Jesus made, eight came at New York’s cost. When the Mets were trying to rally from a 5-2 deficit in the top of the fourth inning, things would blow up in their faces. Francisco Alvarez was the tying run at the plate, and he battled to take a called strike that was obviously out of the zone. Frankie Montas, the Milwaukee starter, threw a strike three on his tenth pitch, ending the inning even though it seemed to be ball four.

The call infuriated Alvarez and Carlos Mendoza, the manager of the Mets; Mendoza, who is usually level-headed, was removed by De Jesus for his reaction. Mendoza got ejected from a game for just the second time this season (the first occurred on July 12).

Mendoza admitted after the game that umpires have a tough time calling balls and strikes, but he was still frustrated with the overall condition of the strike zone, particularly considering how much the Mets needed to win.

“Their work is difficult. Mendoza remarked, “I know they’re working incredibly hard. “I didn’t concur with that. His performance behind the plate was subpar. I wasn’t pleased with a few additional calls in addition to that one. They try, I know, but we have to move on.”

Mendoza mentioned that Milwaukee was getting calls on questionable pitches as early as the first inning, which caused starting pitcher Sean Manaea to walk two batters before giving up a grand slam to Rhys Hoskins that opened the scoring early in the game. But the straw that broke the camel’s back turned out to be the at-bat against Alvarez.

Mendoza responded, “Not at all [surprised I was ejected].” “I went out there and needed to protect Alvy.”
The Atlanta Braves, who defeated the Kansas City Royals, and the Mets, who have identical 87-71 records and a Monday doubleheader set, are now tied for the third and final Wild Card spot as a result of the Mets’ eventual defeat. This puts New York in a very awkward situation because they will probably need to win three of their remaining four games in order to qualify for the playoffs.