"They couldn't see the ball off the bat” - Carlos Mendoza defends Starling Marte’s glaring lapse in London series game vs. Phillies

The New York Mets started their London Series with a 7-2 defeat. Saturday’s game was a tough defeat for the Mets against the Philadelphia Phillies at London Stadium.

In the first inning, Starling Marte hit a RBI double bringing in a run for his team. The Mets maintained their 1-0 lead until the fourth inning.

In the fourth inning, Phillies' Bryce Harper hit a homer tying the score. Shortly after, Edmundo Sosa hit a ball that should have been an easy catch for Starling Marte. But the Mets outfielder didn't even attempt to go for the catch despite rushing into position initially, letting the ball drop.

This mistake allowed the Phillies to score a run and take a 2-1 lead. By the time the fourth inning ended, the Phillies' offense had scored four more runs.

Discussing Starling Marte’s error, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said the sun played a role in the mistake, saying:

“They were having a hard time seeing the ball off the bat, especially in that particular time with the sun coming down and the roof there.”

“It's hard to pick it up, that's the explanation that I got from Marte and [Harrison] Bader…for the first couple of innings especially the third, fourth inning they couldn't see the ball off the bat.”

In the fifth inning, J.D. Martinez's groundout led Francisco Lindor to score a run, bringing the score to 6-2. Nick Castellanos set the final score hitting his ninth homer of the season.

Starling Marte addresses challenging visibility conditions that contributed to the error

Mets outfielder Starling Marte went 2 for 4 recording one RBI during the game. Talking about his error in a post-game interview, Marte said:

“It was just difficult to see. You kind of had to wait for the ball to get out of that shadow."

Marte revealed that it was only after he watched the hitter the Mets star realized it was a hit and tried to locate the baseball.

“When I saw the reaction of the hitter because he was also kind of lost. I knew that a ball has been hit but I just couldn’t pick it up right there. And when I saw his reaction when I saw him move I was able to pick it up shortly after,” Marte added.

The New York Mets are ranked fourth in the NL East with 27 wins and 36 losses. They are scheduled to face the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.