ESPN REPORT: Philadelphia Phillies Key Man Zack Wheeler” criticized for questionable play in outfield….

ESPN REPORT: Philadelphia Phillies Key Man Zack Wheeler” criticized for questionable play in outfield….

Starling Marte, an outfielder for the New York Mets, might have been experiencing some jet lag on Saturday night.

As part of the MLB World Tour, Marte and the Mets traveled across the pond to London Stadium in London, England, to play the Philadelphia Phillies. With Sean Manaea, the starting pitcher for the Mets, on the mound, the game was tied 1-1 with two outs in the top of the fourth inning. Seemingly the last out of the inning, Manaea got Phillies hitter Edmundo Sosa to lift a fly ball to right field.

Rather than letting the ball land in front of him, Marte allowed a run to score because he appeared to be nervous about the ball potentially making a large bounce off the turf and go over his head. It was evident that Manaea was not pleased either.

Although it seemed like a fairly catchable ball for most MLB outfielders, the play was called an RBI single.

A seemingly insignificant error turned into a nearly fatal error for the game. Phillies slugger Whit Merrifield smashed a three-run home run three pitches later. After an RBI single by Kyle Schwarber and a double by Christian Pache, Manaea’s night was abruptly ended with the Mets losing 6-1. With a -8 Outs Above Average (OAA) rating—a metric that quantifies the number of outs a defensive player successfully saves—Marte presently holds the lowest position among outfielders in the major leagues. The only players with lower OAA ratings than Marte thus far this season are infielders Luis Arraez (-9) and Christopher Morel (-11).

In the game, Marte finished 2-of-4 with an RBI. However, his blunders on defense much overshadowed his at-bat efforts.

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