'Negligence': How Marlins' Jon Berti was able to steal home vs. Mets
NEW YORK — When asked if the play was embarrassing for his team, Mets manager Luis Rojas provided a simple answer.
“Yeah," Rojas said. "That shouldn’t happen. That should not happen."
In the sixth inning of Game 2 of Tuesday's doubleheader, Miami's Jon Berti walked. He stole second. He stole third.
You know what comes next.
Berti had a good lead off third base. Even after Jeurys Familia threw a pitch, Berti did not go all the way back to third. He stayed where he had been.
Then, catcher Ali Sanchez – who made his first big-league start – lobbed the ball back to Familia.
That's when Berti took off. A delayed steal. He stumbled but still got in safely to give the Marlins a 3-0 lead over the Mets.
“Definitely aggressive baserunning," Rojas said. "One of the things that distinguishes this team that we’re playing against, they’re aggressive. Almost reckless to a point."
The Mets know this — and that's where Rojas has an issue.
He spoke to third baseman J.D. Davis in the dugout after that inning. The issue: Davis was playing too deep, his cleats almost touching the outfield grass. He did not even creep toward the bag to dissuade Berti from running.
Because of that, Berti stole third more easily (though Davis was shaded a bit to his left because left-handed hitting Corey Dickerson was up to bat). Had Davis crept toward the bag, Berti would have been forced to head back to third, making it much more difficult to steal home.
“Just not getting momentum toward the bag there," Rojas said. "Not anticipating that they might do it – knowing that’s the way they play – is where the negligence is."
That last part is what bothered Rojas.
The Mets and Marlins are National League East foes. They know one another. The Marlins are known for their aggressive playing style. They are not as talented as others in the division, but they try to make up for it with their athletic players.
"They’re a team that we should know already that they’re going to do things like this," the manager said. "It’s negligence from our end."
Added Dominic Smith: “That’s just one of those plays where he was super aggressive. If Familia takes the ball and throws him out, he looks bad. He was very close to throwing him out and it just went the other way. It was just one of those plays that didn’t go our way."
Before Berti stole home, the Mets only trailed by two runs. The top of their order was going to get a shot in the top of the seventh.
Instead, the Marlins added an insurance run – on a play that should never happen.
“They play aggressive, and we know this, so we’re always on our toes and we should stay on our toes," Rojas said. "And I don’t think we did that there."