Mets: Buck Showalter fully dismisses second-guessing crucial late-game decision

New York Mets skipper Buck Showalter was challenged by the media on his late-game decision.

Buck Showalter would rather let Tomas Nido with a bad hand hit for the New York Mets with the game on the line than use All-Star Jeff McNeil as a pinch hitter.

New York lost its third game in a row by falling to the San Diego Padres, 2-1. The Mets were able to put one run across in the final frame on the visiting Friars, but Showalter’s decision to keep Nido in there with the tying run on third instead of using McNeil as a pinch hitter was certainly head-scratching. The Mets saw their NL East lead over the Atlanta Braves drop to only half a game.

Here is Showalter being questioned by the media over his decision to not use McNeil in that spot.

New York Mets manager makes questionable call late in game, resulting in loss

Nido was the ninth-placed hitter for the Mets on Saturday night. While he was 1-for-3 on the day, Nido is only hitting .212 on the season. He also had to exit a game earlier in the series with a contusion on his left hand. Down to their final out with a chance to win it in walk-off fashion, Showalter elected to keep McNeil on the bench. He may not have done better, but he could have!

Despite once having a double-digit lead over the Braves in the NL East race, one would expect the battle for the division crown to now go down to the wire. Atlanta has been playing incredible baseball since June 1. Though the Mets are certainly one of the better teams in baseball, the Braves are the defending World Series champions, having won the division four years in a row.

With the Braves giving up five runs in the first inning to the Los Angeles Angels in yet another gem from Ian Anderson, New York may not have to beat the Padres on Sunday Night Baseball to stay in first place. However, this latest loss to San Diego only further brings to light that New York needs to add a bat or two before the Aug. 2 trade deadline. Atlanta sure knows how to put runs across…

It is only one game, but not even that separates the Mets from the Braves in the division currently.