Inciarte robs Cespedes of would-be walk-off blast to sink Mets
Despite a rash of injuries that's left their roster eerily unrecognizable, the New York Mets have kept themselves in the playoff race, navigating a magical September - they've played .611 baseball this month - reminiscent of their late-season run from a year ago.
On Wednesday night, their magic ran out.
Though it appeared their good fortune would last another night when Yoenis Cespedes - facing Atlanta Braves closer Jim Johnson with two out, two on, and his team trailing by one in the bottom of the ninth - smoked a ball deep into right-center, Ender Inciarte wasn't having it. Inciarte, the 25-year-old center fielder trailing only eight others for the MLB lead in defensive runs saved among outfielders, robbed Cespedes of a potential walk-off blast to quash the Mets' comeback hopes, leaving the Citi Field crowd aghast with what was possibly the catch of the year.
"This is the best feeling I've had in a baseball game," Inciarte said after helping his club secure a 4-3 victory. "Robbing a home run in that situation, it's a really special feeling."
It wasn't quite so special for Cespedes, who thought the ball had a chance to leave the yard.
"I knew I hit the ball well," Cespedes told reporters through an interpreter. "I knew there was a good chance it was going to make it out, but he made a better play."
The Mets' loss capped an ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the worst team in the National League, and left them tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for the second wild-card spot, and a 1/2-game behind the San Francisco Giants (pending the results of their Wednesday night tilt with the Los Angeles Dodgers).
"The perception is, 'You guys have got the easiest schedule.' When you look at wins and losses, we do," Mets manager Terry Collins told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. "But don't tell the guys on the other side of the field that. It's not going to be a cakewalk, and we don’t plan on it being easy. We plan on having to fight for everything we got. I wouldn’t have it any other way."
(Video courtesy: MLB.com)