in the final stages of mets‘ Wednesday night's 2-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds, outfielder Jeff McNeil Harassed by fans and it almost got ugly.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, a ball was thrown in McNeil's direction. McNeil told Newsday's Tim Healy After the game he didn't see where the ball came from so he threw it into the left field stands at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
just before that another ball came towards him Adam Ottavino delivered a pitch that forced McNeil to throw it into the infield. This act apparently drew the ire of Reds fans, who began booing McNeil when he batted in the top of the ninth and grounded out in the bottom of the inning.
“You don't expect that in Cincinnati, do you?” Manager buck showalter said after the game. “He throws one, he thinks it was some kid who dropped it. So he picks it up, throws it back over there and here comes another that barely misses it.
McNeil, who went 1-for-5 in the contest, was sarcastic when talking to Haley about the incident but made sure to convey the seriousness of it.
“I made some friends,” McNeil said. “But that should never happen at a major league baseball game.”
According to Showalter, the Mets alerted ballpark security about the incident and “six or seven” people were ejected.
New York ends its three game set on Thursday to take the series with Cincinnati at 12:35 p.m. Hopefully, there won't be any wild baseballs on the outfield.