In the first inning of the Mets 2-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, Asdrubal Cabrera doubled as the third hitter of the game.
Unfortunately, there was a mishap with the lineup card that was submitted. The lineup card submitted to the umpires had Cabrera batting second and Wilmer Flores third. But in the inning, Flores batted second and Cabrera third.
“It was just an administrative thing that I didn’t take care of,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said postgame. “I’ve gotta double-check, triple-check, and quadruple-check what’s put on there and what’s put on the board.”
Callaway added that as soon as Wilmer Flores went to the plate, he realized they batted out of order, but it was far too late to fix the mistake.
Things got chaotic immediately following Cabrera’s two-out double as Jay Bruce stepped into the batter’s box and was ruled out by home plate umpire Gabe Morales after Reds manager Jim Riggleman appealed the play.
Callaway later explained that the lineup he submitted to the umpires was correct, but the one in the dugout was incorrect. Though he wasn’t the one who writes out the lineup card, Callaway still took full responsibility for the mistake.
“I’m responsible for it,” he said. “One is handwritten and the other is printed out on a computer. … what was put in the computer was wrong.”
With the mistake, Callaway said it was a detrimental blow. The game was tied 1-1 until the 10th when the Reds hit a walk-off home run.
“It’s frustrating — it probably cost us the game,” Callaway said. “I’m so pissed at myself.”
The last time the Mets batted out of order was in 1977. They will look to rebound after a day off tomorrow and have a strong weekend series in Philadelphia.
“We are way better than we are playing right now,” Flores said. “We will figure it out. There’s good players here. There is no reason to play this bad. A new series and now we’ve got to get out of this.”
