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One of baseball’s strangest situations led to a controversial out at first base during Sunday afternoon’s game between the Los Angeles Angels and New York Mets.
Mets star outfielder Juan Soto threw a ball to first base when Nolan Schanuel, and the outfielder had the ball stuck in his glove strap – the oddity in question.
Schanuel was trying to make a double play, but after realizing he couldn’t get the ball out of his glove, he decided to try to bring Soto to first base to secure an out.
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Juan Soto of the New York Mets reacts after hitting an RBI single in the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day at Citi Field in New York on March 26, 2026. (Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
However, Soto booked it down the first base line, and Schanuel was forced to return the glove, the ball still in the strap, to pitcher Jack Kochanowicz covering the bag. It was a very close game, but the referee signaled that Soto was out despite the craziness that occurred just seconds into the third round.
But while Soto thought he was safe in general, the Mets bench was yelling toward the field that Kochanowicz never fully secured Schanuel’s glove, causing him to move as Soto crossed into first base.
No one would have blamed Mets manager Carlos Mendoza for disputing the call on the field, but he told the umpires to continue — an interesting decision considering what happened just the previous game Saturday night.
Mendoza was criticized for not challenging a call in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Angels, which could have had a different outcome given that a deciding run was scored by Los Angeles.
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New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza returns to the dugout after a pitching change during the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field in New York on April 29, 2026. (Heather Khalifa/Getty Images)
As Jo Adell lined a base hit to right-center field in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, Mets right fielder Austin Slater threw a seed to Bo Bichette at third base, and he scored Jorge Soler to end the inning. But more importantly, Bichette’s tag on Soler was placed before the point scored for the Angels in the replay.
But Mendoza never challenged the call, and it ultimately hurt his team.
“[The replay room] “We called and he missed it. [Replay analyst] Harrison [Friedland] is one of the best at his job and, you know, it obviously ends up being a big game when you lose by one point.
“I also think we had chances, but we didn’t take advantage of them.”
Fortunately for the Mets, this failure didn’t hurt them in the end, beating the Angels, 5-1, to arrive at 12-22 on the season.
Los Angeles Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel runs to second base during the first inning against the New York Mets at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California on May 2, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
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It’s been a rough start to the 2026 campaign for New York, a team many expected to contend for a playoff spot. Instead, they recently suffered a 12-game losing streak and are now fighting to get back to at least .500.
The Mets need some things on the diamond to go their way, but not contesting reviewable plays like these is a way for them to swing the momentum in their favor.
