Phillies lose to Mets, 5-4, on umpire’s controversial call, Michael Conforto home run

Andrew McCutchen was called for running out of the baseline in the seventh inning.

Alec Bohm rounds third base after hitting a home run for the Phillies in the sixth inning against the Mets.Read moreELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer

Published May 1, 2021, 9:18 p.m. ET

Andrew McCutchen stood between first and second base, dumbfounded by an umpire’s call. Joe Girardi stormed the field to launch a protest he knew would be unsuccessful. And Bryce Harper scaled the dugout railing and yelled until he got the heave-ho.

Add it to the Phillies’ toll in an adversity-filled week.

After coming back from a four-run first-inning deficit against co-ace Zack Wheeler and tying the game in the sixth on Alec Bohm’s two-run homer, the Phillies lost Saturday night, 5-4, when closer Héctor Neris gave up a ninth-inning homer to New York Mets nemesis Michael Conforto. But not before they wound up on the wrong end of an umpiring double-whammy in the seventh inning that turned Citizens Bank Park into a chamber of boos and invective.

With one out and the game tied, McCutchen got called out by second-base umpire Jose Navas for running out of the baseline, even though he took a direct line from first base on Matt Joyce’s grounder to shortstop. The call wasn’t reviewable, according to MLB’s instant-replay rules, because it was an umpire’s judgment, never mind that the announced crowd of 10,948 was able to see replays on Phanavision in left field that showed McCutchen didn’t veer off course.

Cue the Phillies’ outrage.

“He didn’t really have much to say,” McCutchen said of Navas’ explanation. “He just said I was out of the baseline. I was like, ‘I have three feet on either side. I stayed in the dirt.’ And he didn’t say anything much after that. But we could all see. They just got it wrong.”

Said Girardi: “That was about as straight of a line as you can run. It’s a terrible call. And the sad thing about it is it’s not reviewable. Well, I’m sorry. That’s about as clear as it can be. It’s on the [video] screen clear as day. The idea is to get the call right, right? You see it on the screen like that, just reverse it.

“And it might’ve cost us the game.”

Adding insult to Navas’ error, after a 41-second replay review, first-base umpire Andy Fletcher’s safe call was overturned and Joyce was ruled out, completing a rally-stopping, momentum-halting double play and leading to Harper’s ejection for voicing his displeasure.

“It was pretty bad,” said Wheeler, who recovered from a 31-pitch first inning to complete seven innings in 97 pitches and give the Phillies a chance to come back. “They had the Statcast line and [McCutchen’s path] was straight as an arrow. Yeah, that was pretty bad.”

But it was par for the course in a week in which the Phillies lost Harper for the last three games after he got hit in the face by a 97-mph fastball Wednesday night in St. Louis and J.T. Realmuto for the last two after he took a game-ending wild pitch off the left hand Thursday; placed two players on the COVID-19 injury list; and got into a dugouts- and bullpens-clearing dustup with the Mets on Friday night.

Oh, and they alternated wins and losses all week long. Saturday night’s setback dropped their record back below .500 (13-14) and continued their streak of not winning back-to-back games since they began the season with four wins in a row.

It also spoiled a potentially rousing comeback punctuated by Bohm’s opposite-field line drive into the right-field bleachers. It marked his first homer — and only his second extra-base hit — since April 20. Girardi even gave Bohm a day off earlier in the week to help him snap out of his first funk since making his major-league debut last August.

“Just trying to be more positive with myself, really,” said Bohm, batting .229 with a .618 OPS. “I haven’t probably handled my start as good as I could’ve. Swing’s not the problem. There’s nothing I’m trying to fix necessarily. There’s nothing to fix. Just keep doing what I’m doing and things will change.”

Wheeler made a few changes to his arm action after an uncharacteristic four-run first inning. How uncharacteristic? Consider this: He gave up four runs in a game only twice in his previous 22 starts. He hadn’t allowed four runs in an inning since July 7, 2019, against the Phillies when he was still with the Mets.

So, yeah, it was strange to see the Mets hang a four-spot on Wheeler before most fans were settled in their socially distanced pods.

Wheeler dealt with control issues, hitting Francisco Lindor on the foot and walking Jeff McNeil. It also didn’t help that McCutchen lost sight of Conforto’s line drive in the 6 p.m. sun. The ball bounced in front of him, went between his legs, and rolled toward the warning track for a two-run double.

It has happened a few times to McCutchen this season. He made a similar misplay last weekend in Colorado.

“I’m not too certain what it is,” McCutchen said. “I’m just losing it when I get a break on the ball. I’m getting a good jump on the ball. I’m losing it as I’m trying to catch the ball. The ball needs to be caught. I’m going to do whatever I need to do. I’ll be out there first thing tomorrow working on line drives and my angles.”

But not his baserunning. There wasn’t anything wrong with that.

“To have that [potential rally] just ripped away from you, that definitely can test your patience,” McCutchen said. “I know no one’s going to be perfect, but we’re not asking for that. We just want the calls to be right. Man, it can definitely be frustrating from this end when they get out of the inning like that.”