NEW YORK – Javier Báez and his New York Mets teammates turned the boos into cheers this weekend and then lowered their thumbs to their own fans.
Báez dispatched a home run on Sunday that traveled 44 feet in the 9-4 victory over the Washington Nationals. After the game, the Puerto Rican infielder said the Mets players lowered their thumbs in response to fans screaming the team during an August for oblivion.
“When we go wrong, they yell at us,” Baez said. “So they’ll be screaming when we’re doing well.”
Mets President Sandy Alderson deplored these statements and signals.
“These comments, and any deed on your part or by other players with a similar intent, are totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Alderson said in a statement.
“It’s understandable that Mets fans are frustrated with the team’s recent performance. The players and the organization are equally frustrated, but fans at Citi Field have every right to express their own disappointment. a right for every fan “.
The Mets have an 8-19 record, moving them from first to third in the Eastern Division of the National League, seven and a half games behind the Atlanta Braves.
Báez, his compatriot and friend Francisco Lindor and Kevin Enxampar made the thumb gesture on Sunday.
Báez, who bats for 210 with 22 strikeouts in 62 innings after being acquired in a trade with the Chicago Cubs on July 30, argued that the booing does not affect him but discourages him.
“I love the fans a lot and I like to play for the fans,” Baez said. “But we can’t have the fans against it.”
Dominican driver Luis Rojas, who on Wednesday heard chants calling for his dismissal on Wednesday during a defeat to the San Francisco Giants, said he was not on target for the meaning of the gesture.
“I don’t think there was an intention to make up for it with the fans,” Rojas said. “We want to win for the team. We want to win for us, for our bosses, our owner, our fans. That has to be our focus.”
Rojas added that Báez’s reaction could be due to the process of adapting to the first exchange of his career. Lindor, who signed a 10-year extension before debuting with the Mets, and Enxampar are also completing their first campaigns in New York.
On Sunday, Lindor forced a Balk and propelled two runs with a double, while Dominican Jonathan Villar added a homer.
The Mets won two of the three games and took a series for the first time since they swept the Nationals themselves in three games between Aug. 10 and 12.
Josh Bell gave a pair of quadrangulars for Washington and the Dominican Juan Soto also disappeared. These were the only three unstoppable Nationals in the game.
Lindor set the pattern for the Mets as he danced at third base in the first inning and forced a Balk by Erick Fedde (6-9). It was the first Balk of the season for Washington and the first time the Mets scored via a Balk since March 30, 2019, also against the Nationals.
Báez increased the lead for the Mets with his 444-foot hit, producing two runs, in the fourth inning that put the board 3-2. Villar added a two-run homer to the sixth, a triple and a single, and scored three times.
Tylor Megill (2-3) accepted two runs with a hit – a two-run Bell home run in the fourth inning – gave up three bases per ball and poncho to five in five innings. Four Mets relievers threw an inning each to complete the task of three unstoppable.
Venezuelan Alcides Escobar went 4-0 and his 10-game streak with an unstoppable came to an end.
For the Nationals, the Dominicans Juan Soto 2-1 with two goals and one drive, and Victor Robles 1-0. The Venezuelan Escobar 4-0. The Cuban Yadiel Hernández 3-0.
For the Mets, the Dominican Jonathan Villar 5-3 with three scored and two produced. The Puerto Ricans Lindor 5-1 with a score and two drives, and Báez 4-1 with a score and two pushes.