Mets left in disbelief after botched triple play call ends fourth inning

The Mets hit into a triple play on Friday night — even if the umpires appeared to have botched the call. Jesse Winker pulled the ball to the first-base side in the top of the fourth inning, and at first glance, Nationals first baseman Nathaniel Lowe seemed to have made the catch before throwing the ball to second base for a second out and back to first to complete the triple play. There was one big problem with the call: the ball had hit the ground. Replay showed that Lowe did not catch the ball before the ball hit the ground and it should have not been called an out by first base ump Alfonso Marquez. The play was not reviewable, so the Mets could not challenge the call, but Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza came out to argue the ruling with the umpire. Winker, frozen in disbelief at first base, was caught by cameras saying, “It f–king bounced.”The triple play ended the top of the fourth with the Mets trailing 2-0 to the Nationals.The Amazin’s luck didn’t get much better from there: Mark Vientos’ three-run bloop triple wasn’t able to stand up as Ryne Stanek, closing in place of Edwin Diaz, gave up a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth to snap the team’s winning streak at seven....