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One of baseball’s strangest situations led to a controversial start to Sunday afternoon’s game between the Los Angeles Angels and the New York Mets.
Mets outfielder Juan Soto fielded the ball to first base to Nolan Schanuel, and the pitcher got caught in the webbing of his glove — the oddity of it all.
Schanuel was trying to turn a double play, but after realizing he couldn’t get the ball out of his glove, he decided to try to get Soto at first to ensure the out.
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New York Mets’ Juan Soto reacts after hitting an RBI single during the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day at Citi Field in New York City on March 26, 2026. (Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
However, Soto was booking it on the first base line, and Schanuel was forced to flip the glove, the ball still in the net, for Jack Kochanowicz to cover the bag. It was a very close game, but the umpire signaled that Soto was out despite a crazy few seconds in the top of the third inning.
But while Soto believed he was safe in general, the Mets bench was yelling toward the field that Kochanowicz never fully protected Schanuel’s glove, which blew up as Soto crossed first base.
No one would blame Mets manager Carlos Mendoza for challenging the call on the field, but he told the umpires to go ahead — an interesting move considering what happened before Saturday night’s game.
Mendoza was criticized for not challenging the call in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Angels, which may have had a different outcome considering Los Angeles’ tough run.
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New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza returns to the dugout after a pitching change during the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field in New York City on April 29, 2026. (Heather Khalifa/Getty Images)
With Jo Adell lining right-center field in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, Mets right fielder Austin Slater threw a seed to Bo Bichette at third, and tagged out Jorge Soler to end the inning. But more importantly, Bichette’s tag on Soler was placed before the run got the Angels into the replay.
But Mendoza didn’t challenge the call, and it ultimately hurt his team.
“[The replay room] we missed it,” Mendoza told reporters after the game when asked about not challenging. “We called, he missed it. [Replay analyst] Harrison [Friedland] he’s one of the best in his career, and, you know, obviously it ends up being a big game when you lose by one run.
“I also think we had chances, and we didn’t go in.”
Fortunately for the Mets, this failure to challenge did not hurt them in the end, defeating the Angels, 5-1, to reach 12-22 on the season.
Los Angeles Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel runs to second base in the first inning against the New York Mets at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., on May 2, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Images)
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It was a rough start to the 2026 campaign for New York, a team many expected to contend for a playoff spot. Instead, they endured a 12-game losing streak recently and are now fighting to get back to at least .500.
The Mets need some things on the diamond to go their way, but failing to challenge rematches like this one is how I can get momentum in their favor.
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