NEW YORK -- As the old expression goes, errors love company.
The Royals committed three of them on the same play in the first inning Tuesday at Citi Field, allowing Carson Benge to race around the basepaths on a play that netted three runs for the Mets in a 16-12 loss.
Batting with runners on first and second and two outs in the first, Benge sent a chopper to the left of the mound, where pitcher Seth Lugo fielded it and fired on a hop to first base. Jac Caglianone could not handle the throw, which skipped into foul ground, allowing a run to score.
The Royals were just getting started. Once Caglianone retrieved the ball, he attempted a throw across the diamond to third base but was well off the mark, which allowed Bo Bichette to begin scampering home. Scrambling to retrieve the ball, third baseman Nick Loftin subsequently fired home with only slightly more accuracy, allowing Benge to complete his Little League home run.
As the Royals continued making what Mets interim manager Andy Green called “ping-pong throws back and forth,” Benge made the most of the chance.
“Basically if I have a shot to go, I’m going,” Benge said. “Then I saw the ball get away and I was like, ‘No way.’”
Officially, it was an infield single for Benge, with throwing errors by Lugo, Caglianone and Loftin. If it looked at all familiar, that’s because the play came barely a week after the Mets allowed a Little League home run of their own to George Springer of the Blue Jays in Toronto.
“I thought we did some really good things, put some pressure on them,” Green said of Benge’s dash around the bases. “But that was unique.”
Though the Mets benefitted from that play, they made more than their own share of mistakes in a game that saw their pitchers allow 19 hits and walk 11 batters, taking away from a night that also included a four-hit effort from A.J. Ewing and a three-run homer by Juan Soto. New York allowed a dozen runs in the fifth and seventh innings combined, transforming a once-comfortable lead into a significant deficit.
As a result, the Mets lost for the first time in franchise history when scoring at least 11 runs at home. They had previously been 129-0.
“I think you always want to avoid nights like tonight,” Green said. “Nobody wants to go through that.”