\n<\/p>\n
Gary Cohen wasn\u2019t in the booth Thursday as the Mets\u2019 offense sputtered through a 7-1 loss to the Diamondbacks at Citi Field. But even if he had been, New York\u2019s longtime television voice wouldn\u2019t have pinned the night on Brett Baty.<\/p>\n
If you read any of the game stories<\/a> from the Mets\u2019 beat following Thursday\u2019s game, you\u2019d have thought that multiple, countless errors for a team that focused so heavily on \u201crun prevention\u201d in the offseason did them in. But, really, it was their offense \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014as New York failed to score a run after Luis Robert Jr.\u2019s first-inning home run. That scoreless streak extended to 17 innings after Friday\u2019s 4-0 loss to the Athletics, and yet the conversation has remained stubbornly fixed on the defense and on David Stearns, who spent enough of the offseason publicly preaching run prevention<\/a> that he essentially invited this kind of scrutiny every time a ball drops in.<\/p>\n \u201cI was very surprised to read the game stories and see the focus that was put on Brett Baty not making an impossible catch,\u201d Cohen opined.<\/p>\n Gary Cohen was very surprised by the game stories from the Mets beat after their loss on Thursday\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/cFfYBkvek6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Mets moved on from Brandon Nimmo<\/a>, Pete Alonso,<\/a> and Jeff McNeil<\/a> in large part to improve their defense, and it\u2019s worked thus far. New York entered Friday second in defensive runs saved, having gone from a below-average unit to an above-average one by shoring up the middle of the field. They are not going to be confused for the 2001 Seattle Mariners<\/a> anytime soon, but the defense has been marginally better, even if that wasn\u2019t the narrative coming out of Thursday\u2019s loss.<\/p>\n With Juan Soto<\/a> nursing a calf injury<\/a> and Jorge Polanco<\/a> dealing with Achilles tendinitis<\/a>, the Mets have had two of their most important position players watching from the trainer\u2019s room for much of the early going, leaving Carlos Mendoza to cobble together a lineup with a third baseman in right field and a designated hitter at first base.<\/p>\n As for the play in question, Gabriel Moreno hit a deep drive to right field off Luke Weaver in the seventh inning that was carrying toward the line from the moment it left the bat. Baty gave chase, angling back toward the wall, and got there, but the ball caught the base of the fence before he could, ricocheting onto the warning track while Moreno pulled into second.<\/p>\n One batter later, Alek Thomas hit a sharp grounder to first with the infield drawn in, and Vientos bounced the throw home.<\/p>\n Nolan McLean was magnificent tonight, but he\u2019s not going to come away with a win. After McLean departed, Gabriel Moreno hit an RBI double over Brett Baty\u2019s head, and Alek Thomas knocked in the go-ahead run on an RBI fielder\u2019s choice \u2014 both off Luke Weaver.<\/p>\n The Mets now trail. pic.twitter.com\/SKuTRPuw8U<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Arizona sent ten men to the plate before the inning was over, turning a 1-0 Mets lead into a 5-1 deficit.<\/p>\n Neither play was routine, but context matters in both. Moreno\u2019s double carried a Statcast hit probability of 45 percent, according to The Athletic,<\/a> meaning it was caught roughly half the time by outfielders who play the position for a living, which Baty does not. Whether Baty should have caught that ball is a matter of opinion, but Mendoza didn\u2019t think so, and neither did the three men calling the game on Friday night. More to the point, it wasn\u2019t why the Mets lost, even if you\u2019d have a hard time knowing that from reading the coverage.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that is one of the narratives that\u2019s really easy, but that\u2019s not why the Mets lost the game last night,\u201d Cohen continued. \u201cThey lost because they scored one run and had two relievers get hit very hard.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a tough play,\u201d Keith Hernandez<\/a> added, as he and Ron Darling<\/a> noted that only Dwight \u201cDewey\u201d Evans, Dave Winfield, Dave Parker, and George Hendrick are the outfielders from their era making that play.<\/p>\n Cohen made the same point about Friday night, noting that the Mets hadn\u2019t hit and that the only run they surrendered \u2014 at that point \u2014 came courtesy of Francisco Lindor<\/a> failing to turn a double play that he should have turned.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if that will get written up the same way,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n \n\t<\/div>\n\n
\n