It’s a good thing Gary, Keith and Ron weren’t the umpires on third base.
The SNY broadcast trio of Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling were not convinced that Mets third baseman Mark Vientos had gotten the tag on Braves runner Whit Merrifield in a crucial moment of Thursday’s 3-2, extra-inning win over Atlanta.
Merrifield went to steal third base in the top of the ninth inning with the game tied at 2-2, but Francisco Alvarez made a good throw to third and it appeared Vientos had the easy tag.
Nevertheless, the Braves challenged, and upon a second look, the SNY crew was not convinced that Merrifield was out.
“It’s close. It’s not a good tag,” Hernandez said while watching the play back for the first time.
“Vientos got him on the left arm, the question is whether the hand hit the bag before the tag on the arm,” Cohen added at one point.
“He’s safe,” Hernandez interjected, which Darling agreed with.
The three came to the same conclusion that Merrifield had been safe after watching the replay several times.
When the umpire finally announced that the call was confirmed and that Merrifield was out, Cohen let out a loud “wow” in reaction.
Ironically, if anyone had been watching the broadcast of the game on Bally Sports South, the Braves’ broadcast team was far less convinced that the call would be overturned.
The Mets extended their winning streak to four games on Thursday with a walk-off win in the 10th inning courtesy of Jeff McNeil.
The Mets’ second baseman hit a two-out double that drove in Jose Iglesias for the win and pulled them within a half game of the Braves for the top spot in the NL wild-card race.
Thursday was the first game of a four-game series with the Braves and comes after the Mets completed the season sweep of the Yankees on Wednesday.