CINCINNATI — The difference on the scoreboard between the New York Mets and the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday was eight runs, with the visiting Mets salvaging the final game of the series with a 9-1 victory. But the difference may have really only been one play.An error on a baseball field has very specific parameters that must be weighed by the official scorer, but even if a play isn’t deemed an error, it can still be a mistake. And mistakes are what cost ballgames.One play Wednesday featured mistakes by both teams, but only one of them — the Mets — capitalized.“That’s kind of the whole thing in the big leagues — if you make mistakes, you’re going to pay,” Reds shortstop Matt McLain said. Indeed, a small blunder in the third inning cost the Reds a game.Will there be an MLB lockout next season? Here's what players think.Sam BlumMets catcher Luis Torrens led off the inning with a dribbler that didn’t register an exit velocity on MLB’s StatCast data, perfectly placed past starting pitcher Nick Lodolo and in front of Sal Stewart at third base. A sacrifice bunt by nine-hole hitter Zack Short turned the lineup over to leadoff man Carson Benge with one out.With McLain positioned nearly directly behind Torrens, Benge hit a slow liner on a 1-2 count that McLain was able to field on the second-base side of the bag.Torrens froze at second, started back to the bag, and then broke for third base when he saw McLain throw to first.Reds first baseman Nathaniel Lowe made the catch at first to record the inning’s second out and then threw to third, his throw beating Torrens to the bag for what appeared to be the end of the inning.Stewart made the catch and attempted a sweep tag, but the ball fell out of his glove, leaving the runner safe at third and extending the inning for Lodolo to face Mets’ No. 2 and No. 3 hitters, Bo Bichette and Juan Soto (and their combined $891 million of contracts).Lodolo walked Bichette, who was 6 for 11 in the series to that point, on four pitches.Lodolo quickly got ahead of Soto 0-2 before the Mets’ left fielder reached for a pitch outside the zone and lifted it above the head of McLain at short and in front of center fielder Noelvi Marte to drive in the first run of the game.Marcus Semien followed with a liner over the head of Stewart at third, and then Mark Vientos lined a ball by a diving McLain. Suddenly, the Mets led 3-0 on three straight singles that were hit at 68.3 mph, 72.7 mph and 90.7 mph, respectively.In all, Lodolo was forced to throw 21 more pitches that inning following the play at third base. The Reds’ left-hander managed the first two innings in 27 pitches total and would’ve left the third with 39 pitches had Stewart held onto the ball. Instead, he entered the fourth with 60 pitches.“I thought that definitely wore on him because his fastball didn’t have the same finish after that,” Reds manager Terry Francona said.Lodolo gave up 11 hits in his 4 2/3 innings, but only the last one — a two-run double by center fielder A.J. Ewing — went for extra bases.“I don’t even know — was it nine, 10 singles?” Lodolo said. “But it counts, so I’ve got to find a way to stop it.”Two starts before Wednesday, Lodolo gave up nine singles and a home run over five innings in a no-decision against the St. Louis Cardinals, a game the Reds lost 6-5.“I think a lot of that comes with making good pitches throughout (the start),” Lodolo said. “When you’re going through an outing like that, you’re always hunting swing-and-miss — that’s king.“Pitching deep into games, if you do things like get ahead and you are on the attack the whole time, you are going to do that. That’s something I haven’t done a great job of and it’s why I feel like I’m in the position I’m in.”It’s also why the Reds sit at 35-38 in last place in the National League Central. Despite outscoring the Mets 17-3 in the first two games of the series, Reds starters managed only five innings in both of the first two games.When the Reds began the season 20-11, plenty of people asked just how they were doing it. The answer was usually a combination of things, but finished with the overarching theme of “playing clean baseball.”Clean baseball, which Francona has stressed since taking the job in Cincinnati before the 2025 season, includes making plays that should be made, not merely avoiding errors.“I do think for us to be the team we want to be, we have to play very clean baseball,” Francona said. “We haven’t done that as well as we’d like to.”Jun 18, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms