The Mets might owe one to Rob Drake.
In a chaotic play in the top of the fifth inning at Citi Field on Tuesday night, the third base umpire got in the middle of the fray and might have even helped the Mets stop the Tigers from scoring a game-tying run.
It all started when Mets starter Freddy Peralta yielded a two-out single to right to the Tigers’ Riley Greene, and Colt Keith, who started the play on first base, made it all the way to third safely when Carson Benge’s low, hard throw could not be handled by third baseman Brett Baty.
As the ball bounced around near the boundary of the visitor’s dugout, Keith darted home but hit into an expected wall — Drake.
Drake had been in position to make the call at third, but when Keith made his dash to the dish, the umpire could not move out of the way before Keith slammed into him.
As Drake fell to the grass, Keith threw off his helmet and stayed on his feet, but was thrown out at home by Peralta, who was in the right position backing up the play.
Had Keith b\scored, the ballgame would have been tied. Instead, he was the final out of the frame. The Mets added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to extend their edge. They added two more in the seventh, one of which came on rookie A.J. Ewing’s first big league hit, an RBI triple.
