NEW YORK – Four days after closer Jason Grilli's errant pickoff throw at second base led to the tying run in the ninth inning of an 11-inning loss to the Padres, it happened to the Braves again Friday.
Starter Alex Wood who threw wildly to second base on a pickoff attempt in the sixth inning, which led to an unearned run that pushed the Mets’ lead back to 4-2, after the Braves scored a run in the top of the sixth. The Mets went on to a 5-3 win.
“It happened early in the week against the Padres with Grilli,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “We have two middle infielders who are really active, and they do a nice job holding those runners. We put on a pick and we just didn’t execute it.”
Unless Gonzalez was covering for his pitcher, that quote indicated the manager called for the throw to second, a relatively risky maneuver late in a one-run game.
The Braves have done it several times successfully in the past couple of seasons with shortstop Andrelton Simmons slipping over to second base and catching a runner off-guard, but Friday it was second baseman Jace Peterson who went over for the throw, which sailed into the outfield. That allowed John Mayberry to advance to third base and Dilson Herrera to move from first base to second base with one out in the inning.
Eric Campbell followed with a routine groundout to drive in a run for a 4-2 lead.
Wood was asked afterward if he rued making the errant throw on the pickoff attempt.
“It’s hard to beat yourself up (over it),” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a high-risk play, because we’re pretty good at it. It’s just something that happened. To me that’s a physical mistake. I don’t know if he’s out or now with a good throw, but it’s something I like doing, and it won’t keep me from doing it again, that’s for sure.”
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