The Mets had another rough night on Friday. Jeff McNeil’s ejection in the fourth inning during a loss to the Rangers added to their struggles. The team was already down, and frustration boiled over.
McNeil was facing his former teammate Jacob deGrom when a low fastball was called strike three. The Mets’ hitter thought it was ball four, tossed his bat, yelled “F**k you, god damnit!” to the home plate umpire, and was tossed from the game. Notably, it was his first career ejection and the first ejection of the season for a Mets player. Manager Carlos Mendoza, who is on the hot seat these days, has been ejected three times this season.
Watch the incident here:
The Mets went on to lose 8-3, stretching their losing streak to seven games. Rookie pitcher Jonah Tong had a rough outing, giving up six runs in 0.2 innings, and deGrom settled down to retire the final 15 Mets he faced.
Mets’ Season Going Bad To Worse
The Mets have gone from playoff hopefuls to a team in free fall. They have now lost seven straight games, and the pitching has been one of the key reasons behind the downfall.
In their last 30 games, the Mets’ pitching staff has been near the bottom of the league, posting a 5.41 ERA, the fifth-worst in baseball. Only the Angels, Rockies, Marlins, and Twins have been worse during that stretch.
At 76-72, the Mets are barely holding on to the last NL Wild Card spot. The San Francisco Giants are only half a game behind. With a terrible 31-47 record over the past three months, the Mets are running out of time to turn things around.
They will continue their series against the Rangers on Saturday.
The post Why Did Jeff McNeil Get Ejected During Mets’ Loss To Rangers? originally published on Total Pro Sports.