When Baseball Stopped Making Sense
Twenty-eight runs, 32 hits and a game that somehow became stranger with every inning.
Wednesday: July 8
After the previous two games in Atlanta, it felt impossible for another game to top them.
The Mets had already survived a seven-run ninth-inning scare on Sunday before Juan Soto’s dramatic ninth-inning homer and Luis Torrens’ extra-inning heroics helped salvage a series split Monday night.
Baseball had already thrown just about everything imaginable at them.
Then Tuesday happened.
The New York Mets were defeated 16-12 by the Kansas City Royals Tuesday night at Citi Field, but the final score barely scratches the surface of one of the strangest games you’ll ever watch.
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There was a Little League home run.
Three throwing errors on one play.
Twenty-eight combined runs.
Thirty-two hits. Sixteen walks.
A seven-run inning.
A major league debut that turned into a nightmare.
It wasn’t just another loss. For three and a half hours, baseball completely stopped making sense.
After Cionel Pérez opened the night with a scoreless first inning, the Mets immediately found themselves in the middle of one of the most bizarre sequences in franchise history.
With two outs and runners aboard, Carson Benge chopped a ground ball toward former Mets pitcher Seth Lugo.
What should have been the final out instead became complete chaos.
Lugo airmailed his throw to first, the Royals followed with two more throwing errors trying to record an out, and Benge circled the bases for what was officially scored as a single with three errors -- a Little League home run unlike anything Citi Field had ever seen in a long time.
It marked the first time in franchise history an opponent committed three errors on the same play against the Mets.
Just like that, New York led 3-0.
Of course, the lead didn’t last.
Kodai Senga, making his return to the mound after Pérez served as the opener, immediately surrendered a two-run homer to Tyler Tolbert in the second inning, cutting the lead to one.
The Mets answered again.
Facing Lugo for the first time since the veteran right-hander left Queens, A.J. Ewing jumped all over a hanging sweeper and launched his sixth home run of the season into the right-field seats.
The rookie’s blast restored a three-run advantage and continued what became the best offensive night of his young career.
As wild as Sunday’s exhausting win and Monday night’s extra-inning thriller were, Tuesday somehow raised the stakes even higher.
Seven runs. Two home runs. A Little League home run.
Three errors on one play. All before the game was two innings old.
The offensive fireworks never stopped.
Senga couldn’t find his rhythm, allowing four runs across three innings, although Soto helped prevent even more damage with a spectacular fully extended diving catch in left field that robbed Salvador Perez of extra bases and likely saved two runs.
Moments later, the Mets appeared ready to seize complete control.
Ewing collected his third hit and third RBI of the night before Soto -- playing like the hottest hitter on the planet --obliterated another three-run homer to straightaway center field.
One night after delivering a dramatic game-changing blast in Atlanta, Soto crushed another towering three-run shot, his 20th homer of the season, giving New York what looked like a comfortable 9-4 lead.
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It should have been enough.
Instead, the game descended even further into madness.
Austin Warren entered and immediately struggled.
Huascar Brazobán followed and couldn’t stop the bleeding either.
By the time Salvador Perez lined a game-tying single into the outfield, the Royals had erased the entire five-run deficit.
Nine to nine.
Keith Hernandez could only shake his head.
“It’s just one of those games.”
Gary Cohen summed it up even better moments later.
“Is there a full moon? Is it Friday the 13th? What’s next?”
Through five innings, the scoreboard looked like something out of a video game.
3-0.
3-2.
5-2.
5-4.
9-4.
9-9.
Eighteen runs. Twenty-one hits. Three errors. And somehow, there were still four innings left to play.
Unfortunately for the Mets, the strangest chapter was still waiting.
With the game tied entering the seventh, newly acquired Matt Seelinger made his Major League debut.
A New York native and lifelong Mets fan, it was the moment he had dreamed about since childhood.
Instead, it became one he’ll desperately try to forget.
Kansas City batted around for the second time, scored seven runs, and completely flipped the game on its head.
The Royals’ lead ballooned as four walks, a two-run homer by Nick Loftin, and relentless pressure turned a tie game into a blowout.
In the middle of it all, Tyler Tolbert tied a Major League record by recording hits in 12 consecutive at-bats.
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The Mets continued fighting, scoring twice in the seventh and once more in the eighth, but the comeback never truly materialized.
Lost beneath the chaos were outstanding performances from New York’s young core.
Ewing reached base five times, finishing 4-for-4 with a walk, three RBIs and a stolen base for the first four-hit game of his career.
Benge reached safely four times, going 2-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base while becoming part of one of the strangest plays in franchise history.
Soto continued carrying the offense, launching his second consecutive three-run homer while making perhaps the defensive play of the night with his diving robbery in left field.
Normally, 12 runs and 13 hits win baseball games.
Tuesday night, they weren’t even close.
The Mets have now played three consecutive games that feel almost impossible to explain.
Sunday featured a seven-run ninth-inning lead that nearly disappeared.
Monday required another late escape after Soto’s heroics were immediately erased.
Then Tuesday somehow went even further, producing one of the wildest regular-season games Citi Field has ever witnessed.
The Mets scored 12 runs. Collected 13 hits.
Their rookie outfielders reached base nine times.
And somehow, it still wasn’t enough.
At some point, this stops feeling like ordinary baseball.
It starts feeling like a season that has completely spun off its axis.
📸 Where Mets History Comes Back To Life
Back on this day, 7/7/2001. 25-years-ago yesterday. In a scoreless game in the 10th inning, five straight batters reached base against Mariano Rivera, with Mike Piazza, Timo Pérez, and Todd Zeile stringing consecutive run-scoring hits together to take a 3-0 lead in extras 🔽
Two Mets have recorded 20+ home runs and 50+ walks in the first half of a season multiple times:
Darryl Strawberry (1987, 1988)
Juan Soto (2025, 2026)
🗞️ News and Notes In Mets Land 🗞️
🔶 Mets interim manager Andy Green celebrated his 49th birthday yesterday.
🔷 New York designated RHP Guillo Zuñiga for assignment, one day after the reliever made his team debut. To replace him, the Mets have selected New York native and right-handed reliever, Matt Seelinger, whom the Mets acquired Monday from the Tigers for cash considerations.
🔶 Jorge Polanco is back from the injured list. To clear room, infielder Ronny Mauricio was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, and reliever Alex Carrillo has been designated for assignment.
Polanco, who will serve as a part-time DH for the Mets, has been out since early April with an achilles injury.
🔷 Brett Baty extended his hitting streak to seven games with a double in the second inning.
🏟️ Around The League 🏟️
⛽️ Jacob Misiorowski’s Cy Young season continues. He was sharp as ever. 7 IP | 3 H | 3 ER | 0 BB | 11 K. His ERA sits at a MLB-leading 1.62.
It was his 8th start with at least 10+ K’s this season. Only two other pitchers have more than 3. The Brewers took down the Cardinals 4-3 in game one of their doubleheader.
🏥 Pirates rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin has been diagnosed with a torn tendon in the ring finger on his left hand. Griffin will be in a split for the next six weeks and is expected to spend anywhere from eight to ten weeks on the injured list. A massive blow to the Pirates.
🌟 Red Sox Willson Contreras has been named to the American League All-Star team. He replaces Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the roster. Nick Kurtz will start at first base for the AL. Guerrero Jr. declined the invite citing he needs to rest his back, which has been ailing him for much of the season.
🔥 Ryan O’Hearn had a night to remember. The Pirates first baseman had three home runs, including a grand-slam with 10 RBIs—a Pirates’ record for most RBIs in a single game. Pittsburgh demolished the Braves 12-4.
⚾️ Tonight the Mets (38-54) play the middle game of their three-game series against the Royals (38-54) from Citi Field. Christian Scott (2-1, 3.49) will get the ball for New York against Royals starter (TBD). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm. The game can be seen on SNY.
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