Breaking down Mets’ meltdown where defense was difference in bad loss to Diamondbacks

NEW YORK — The Mets wasted a gem from Nolan McLean in Thursday’s 7-1 loss to the Diamondbacks and while there was plenty of blame to share, two key plays on defense were the difference during the Mets’ seventh-inning implosion. With reliever Luke Weaver on the mound, Brett Baty couldn’t catch Gabriel Moreno’s game-tying double to right field with one out. Baty got a solid jump, but as he got closer to the wall — with Moreno’s 99.

3-mph line drive trailing away from him and toward the chain-link fence — his inexperience at the position showed. There were late glances over his shoulder to see how much room he had. Baty didn’t get to the spot in time, reaching out with his glove at the very last second.

It was a tough play for any outfielder without question, but even tougher for an infielder making the fifth appearance of his career in right field. One pitch later, the Diamondbacks took the lead on a grounder to Mark Vientos at first base with Jose Fernandez running home on contact from third. Vientos, who came up with the Mets as a third baseman, stabbed the sharp grounder to his left from Alek Thomas, but after twisting toward home and loading up to fire, he bounced his throw.

It needed to be perfect and Vientos yanked it away from home plate, forcing Luis Torrens to make the catch on his backhand side while Fernandez — who got a great jump off the bat — slid in safely behind him to his left. Just like that, McLean — after 6 1/3 dominant innings with eight strikeouts and three hits allowed — was in line for the loss. Again, neither of those two plays were routine, but for a team that placed so much of an emphasis on run prevention this past offseason, it’s a harder pill to swallow when outs aren’t made in big spots.