Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez didn’t hide their feelings about the umpiring crew in charge of this week’s Mets-Diamondbacks series.
And Thursday’s matinee got to a point where both really made sure to let their SNY audience know how they felt.
Things came to a head in the top of the ninth in Arizona’s 4-2 win at Citi Field when the Diamondbacks loaded the bases with two outs and slugger Eugenio Suarez up at the plate.
Reliever Ty Adcock’s slider in a 1-2 count didn’t break back over the plate, but the ball did clearly hit the bat of Suarez and landed in catcher Luis Torrens’ glove, which would’ve been a foul tip strike three.
Both Torrens and manager Carlos Mendoza pleaded with home plate umpire John Bacon, who did not seem to agree and called the pitch a ball.
Cohen then tore into Bacon’s ability to call the game behind the dish.
“John Bacon does not seem to know the difference between a ball hitting a bat and a bat hitting a glove. That was clear a foul tip for strike three. … I mean, what’s going on, Keith?”
After Suarez popped out to end the inning, Hernandez then summarized his feelings on the umpiring crews from the past two series.
“Two series in a row just el stinko,” the ex-Mets first baseman said.
Notably, during the last series in Washington, Jesse Winker hit into a triple play in the opener after his line drive to first base was incorrectly called a catch, as multiple replays on the TV broadcast showed the ball hit the ground, which would’ve kept the ball in play and likely eliminated a triple play.
Winker was at the center of another controversial call during Wednesday’s game in which he appeared to foul a ball off his foot with the bases loaded in the ninth inning.
It was instead ruled a fair ball and ended up as an RBI groundout.
Two batters later, the Mets lost, 4-3.
All three plays were not reviewable.
The Mets next head to St. Louis for a series with the Cardinals after losing two out of three against Arizona.