PHOENIX — The Mets usually celebrate their aggressive approach on the bases, but Friday night they expressed regret.
Marlon Byrd was thrown out attempting to stretch a triple into an inside-the-park homer leading off the second inning and Juan Lagares got nailed trying for a triple to end the seventh in the Mets’ 5-4 loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Byrd was just following the signal of third-base coach Tim Teufel when he was nailed at the plate on Aaron Hill’s perfect relay. Umpire Mark Wegner signaled Byrd was out, despite replays that indicated Byrd’s hand may have touched the plate before the tag.
“I thought he could make it, so I sent him — how I send everybody, basically,” Teufel said. “I have the conviction of thinking they are going to be safe, not out. It didn’t work this time.”
Manager Terry Collins had a bigger issue with Lagares’ decision to try for a triple with two outs in the seventh. Lagares was easily tagged out.
“Juan’s going to learn from his,” Collins said. “Marlon did everything he was supposed to do. I’m not going to sit here and criticize Tim — he’s gotten us runs all year long, extra runs because he’s been aggressive and he thought [Byrd] had a shot to make it.”
* Ike Davis received quite the homecoming present last night: a seat on the bench against Diamondbacks lefty Patrick Corbin.
The Mets first baseman, who grew up in nearby Scottsdale, may get his chance against lefties before the season concludes, but manager Terry Collins remains committed to winning games, and that meant putting Josh Satin at first.
Satin went 1-for-3 Friday night, and Davis struck out looking as a pinch hitter in the ninth.
“You sit here and look at numbers, and when that batting average [almost] begins with a four it’s impressive,” Collins said, referring to Satin’s .390 batting average against lefties entering last night. “This is only about the fact we’ve got another guy here who can do damage against left-handed pitching.”
Davis went 7-for-13 (.538) on the Mets’ most recent homestand and entered last night with a .450 on-base percentage since his recall from Triple-A Las Vegas on July 5.
* John Buck said he could have a friend’s private jet at his disposal if his wife, Brooke, goes into labor next week. Brooke Buck is near the “latter end” of the window she was given for the arrival of the baby, according to the Mets catcher.
Buck said a friend in Utah is prepared to dispatch his private jet and pick him up in Los Angeles, where the Mets play three games beginning Monday, and fly him to New York for the birth. But if Brooke goes into labor this weekend, Buck will be on his own to travel from Arizona, as the private jet is unavailable. Once Buck departs for paternity leave, Travis d’Arnaud is expected to be called up from Las Vegas for three days.
* Though LaTroy Hawkins had converted two straight save opportunities, Collins said it’s still closer-by-committee in Bobby Parnell’s absence. Parnell was placed on the disabled list this week with a herniated disk in his neck.
“I’m not committed to anybody,” Collins said, noting David Aardsma and Carlos Torres are also candidates for a save situation.