“It’s like d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu all over again\u2026and again\u2026and again.”<\/p>\n
And it’s only the 2nd inning. pic.twitter.com\/WIGsNxIBYl<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n There were a few factors that made the first send in the first inning curious.<\/p>\n One, Benge had thrown out a runner in each of the previous two games and has demonstrated improved release and accuracy to go with his exceptional arm.<\/p>\n Two, Cronenworth had to slow down between first and second to see if the ball hit by Ty France would fall. So from the start, he was not at optimal speed.<\/p>\n You could argue a third factor was that the Padres had gotten four consecutive hits off Nolan McLean, who was clearly struggling to put the ball where he wanted.<\/p>\n However, Cronenworth said he thought he was going to score.<\/p>\n \u201cHe made two perfect throws,\u201d Cronenworth said. \u201cAnd then Ewing makes a perfect throw the next inning. If he throws my ball up the line a little bit or towards the first base side a little bit, and same thing with Manny\u2019s, and same thing with Bogey\u2019s. I mean, he made three perfect throws. Those are about as perfect as you can throw it.\u201d<\/p>\n Benge\u2019s second assist, on the next play, was on a send Henley was justified to make, because there were two outs. However, it is notable that Machado is not running the bases as well as usual due to various leg maladies that have bothered him since late April.<\/p>\n Bogaerts also tried to score with two outs, though he appeared to continue running after a late stop sign from Henley. It is unclear what mechanisms were in play there, but Bogaerts said he should have stopped.<\/p>\n Bogaerts also said he believes the Padres\u2019 aggressiveness has generally served them well.<\/p>\n \u201cThese guys are big league players for a reason,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re not always going to throw it on the money, but they threw three on the money. If one goes a little to the side, we got a run. So they made some good throws.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps what Mets manager Andy Green said about Benge having four assists in three games sheds some light on how baseball people see such plays.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been ridiculous, honestly,\u201d Green said last night. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t happen at this rate. You just don\u2019t get these opportunities, and you don\u2019t execute perfectly every time the way he has.\u201d<\/p>\n There is little doubt that is what was in Henley\u2019s mind as well.<\/p>\n Now, the Padres might also have been caught in a time where the league has not quite made up its mind about how good Henge is. It happens. It took teams a while to stop running on Fernando Tatis Jr.<\/p>\n The throw that got Cronenworth was 99.9 mph, and the one that got Machado was 103.9 mph, the third-fastest throw on an outfield assist since Statcast began tracking in 2015.<\/p>\n The Padres could have felt entirely convicted to test Benge last night. And now, they might not do so if given a similar opportunity tonight.<\/p>\n There have been a number of plays this year that required a perfect throw by the opposing outfielder and\/or relay man. Those fielders delivered a few times. And they did not on others.<\/p>\n Saturday in Cleveland, Jackson Merrill and Bogaerts did that to the Guardians in the first inning.<\/p>\n We remember the ones Henley seems to have gotten wrong. We hardly notice the ones where his aggressiveness helped the Padres to a run they otherwise would have gotten.<\/p>\n Yesterday, two rookie outfielders made him look wrong.<\/p>\n On the Mets\u2019 side, they viewed it somewhat differently. They saw Benge and Ewing as the heroes that enabled starting pitcher Nolan McLean to find his command after eight of the first 11 Padres who went to the plate reached base.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout those kids on the corners we don\u2019t win that game,\u201d Green said. \u201cNolan doesn\u2019t settle in and pitch six strong innings for us. That game could have spun wildly different without them playing the outfield so well.\u201d<\/p>\n Missing piece<\/p>\n This newsletter was created for games like last night, where there was too much information to fit into the game\u00a0 story.<\/p>\n I would have loved to have dived deeper and explained more about what happened on the three plays that resulted in outs at the plate last night.<\/p>\n But Stammen instructed a media relations staffer to inform reporters that Henley would be unavailable to talk. Stammen\u2019s reason was that his addressing the plays was sufficient.<\/p>\n Stammen is, as modern managers go, one of the more willing to engage the media on virtually any topic. He is extremely helpful and should be appreciated by the media and fans for his forthrightness about most things.<\/p>\n But it is unfortunate he made that decision \u2014 presumably to shield Henley \u2014 because Henley is perfectly capable of speaking for himself and has done so before in his long career.<\/p>\n Also, Henley was the one making the split-second decisions. No one\u2019s perspective is as important as his.<\/p>\n I have never come away from a conversation with a third base coach and not been better informed. There is always an explanation for their decision that makes sense, at least from his vantage point. That would have been nice to have last night.<\/p>\n Anyway, it was important that you know why there is no perspective from Henley in today\u2019s newsletter.<\/p>\n Good finish<\/p>\n Walker Buehler turned in his second consecutive quality start.<\/p>\n It might not have been his best start, but he ended his night with perhaps as dominant a five innings as he has had all season.<\/p>\n After a single, a walk and a single to start what would become a two-run first inning, Buehler retired 17 of the 18 batters he faced after that, including the final 10 in a row.<\/p>\n The first inning was the latest in a season-long battle against a temporary lack of command. It was the seventh time in his past nine starts and 16th time in his 25 starts that Buehler has allowed at least one multi-run inning. Last night was the 10th time this season that crooked-numbered inning was the only time he was scored on in a start.<\/p>\n Buehler has almost always recovered well. It is just a matter of how long it lasts.<\/p>\n Many of the troublesome innings have been a little weird, too. Walks have doomed him a few times. Soft singles have bit him.<\/p>\n Last night, he surrendered a leadoff single on a soft line drive and an RBI single on a grounder that was just out of the reach of both first baseman Ty France and Cronenworth at second.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo guys get on and walk a guy, and that stuff kind of piles up,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously, I can\u2019t rear back and try and punch three guys quite like the way I used to. So, you know, balls in play can be a little tough when you\u2019re a pitcher.\u201d<\/p>\n Not his worst<\/p>\n Walking into the dugout after that first inning, Buehler was caught on the Mets telecast yelling toward at least one person.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s conversations we have (about) the way we were gonna set up certain hitters, or what we\u2019re gonna try to do to hitters,\u201d Buehler said. \u201cAnd I think every time there\u2019s kind of seeing-eye stuff like that, there\u2019s frustration all around. So, you know, nothing wrong. Just kind of conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n Walker Buehler didn\u2019t look happy in the dugout after his first inning in New York pic.twitter.com\/8KWCe605wr<\/a><\/p>\n
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