The New York Mets pulled off a 6-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Citi Field, but the talk of the town was a bizarre baserunning blunder in the first inning that had fans scratching their heads and players laughing it off postgame. Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo, two of the Mets’ biggest bats, found themselves at the center of a mixup that cost New York a run but didn’t derail their victory. For more details on the game, check the sports card above.
It all went down in the bottom of the first. Soto ripped a shot into the right-center field gap off White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon, and Nimmo, on first, was sure it was a double or better. “I thought that’s down for sure,” Nimmo said postgame, per SNY’s John Flanigan. He took off, rounding second with his eyes on third, but then the Citi Field crowd’s reaction threw him for a loop. It sounded like Chicago’s Michael A. Taylor had made the catch, so Nimmo spun around to retreat to first—only to see Soto cruising past him on the basepaths. Replays showed Taylor short-hopped the ball, and the first-base umpire signaled it hit the ground, but the damage was done. After a quick umpire huddle, Soto was called out for passing Nimmo, a rare baserunning gaffe that killed a promising rally.
Nimmo owned up to the mistake, kicking himself for not keeping his eyes on the play. “I went and looked at the play afterwards—probably shouldn’t be so aggressive, maybe just watch the play a little bit more,” he said. “He caught it short hop, so I can see where everyone was confused—just one of those plays that’s unfortunate.” Pete Alonso, waiting in the on-deck circle, backed his teammate, calling it a “screwy play” and admitting he thought Taylor caught it too. “When you’re in the heat of the moment, you’re not really looking at the umpire,” Alonso said, per Mike Fitzpatrick of the Associated Press. “I probably would have done the same thing.”
The Mets’ offense has been under the microscope this spring, especially with runners in scoring position, where they’ve limped along at a .188 clip (38-for-202) over their last 24 games, per Dan Martin of the New York Post. Soto’s own struggles at the plate—hitting .243 with a .774 OPS since joining the Mets—have fueled chatter on X, with fans debating whether he’s worth his $765 million deal. One post summed it up: “Soto’s bat is quiet, and now he’s running into Nimmo? Mets need him to wake up.” But Tuesday’s win showed New York’s resilience. Alonso came to the rescue, blasting a two-run homer right after the blunder, and utility man Jared Young chipped in with a two-run shot later in the inning, giving the Mets a 4-0 lead they wouldn’t surrender.
Despite the miscue, the Mets improved to 34-21, 13 games over .500, and could laugh off what Alonso called a “weird play.” Nimmo’s take shows the team’s perspective: sometimes, baseball throws you a curveball, and you just gotta roll with it. With their sights set on a deep playoff run, the Mets know these moments are just bumps on the road—as long as they keep stacking wins like Tuesday’s.
