The futility of this Pirates season was encapsulated in a single play Friday night, when third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes took a snack break on the field while the Mets were in the process of scoring a run.
In the third inning of a scoreless game, the Mets had Eduardo Escobar at first base with one out. Tomas Nido dropped a hit-and-run single into right field. Third-base coach Joey Cora began to put up a stop sign, but Escobar, 33, a 12-year veteran, kept going.
Escobar scored with a head-first slide, but his belly flop wasn’t even necessary. The throw from right fielder Ben Gamel was about 30 feet up the line and had to be tracked down in foul ground by pitcher Mitch Keller.
Watching the replay, SNY Mets analyst Todd Zeile noticed something shocking. As Escobar rounded third, Hayes was standing with his mitt off and reaching into his back pocket for some seeds — appearing to be totally disinterested in the play.
“That’s September baseball when you’re in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization right now,” Zeile said.