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Mets’ Carlos Mendoza lets another controversial call stand after saying team missed challenge in Saturday loss
One of baseball’s oddest situations led to a controversial out call at first base in Sunday afternoon’s matchup between the Los Angeles Angels and New York Mets.
Mets star outfielder Juan Soto grounded a ball to first base when Nolan Schanuel, and the fielder had the ball stuck in the webbing of his glove — the oddity in question.
Schanuel was trying to turn a double play, but after realizing he couldn’t get the ball out of his glove, he decided to try to get Soto at first base to ensure an out.
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However, Soto was booking it down the first base line, and Schanuel was forced to flip the glove, ball still in the webbing, to pitcher Jack Kochanowicz covering the bag. It was a very close play, but the umpire signaled that Soto was out despite the madness that transpired across just a few seconds in the top of the third inning.
But while Soto believed he was safe in general, the Mets bench was screaming toward the field that Kochanowicz never fully secured Schanuel’s glove, bobbling it as Soto crossed first base.
No one would’ve blamed Mets manager Carlos Mendoza for challenging the call on the field, but he told umpires to keep going — an interesting move considering what happened just the game prior on Saturday night.
Mendoza was criticized for not challenging a call in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Angels, which may have seen a different result considering a decisive run was scored by Los Angeles.
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As Jo Adell lined a hit to right-center field in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, Mets right fielder Austin Slater threw a seed to Bo Bichette at third base, and he tagged out Jorge Soler to end the inning. But even more important, Bichette’s tag on Soler was placed before the run scored for the Angels on the replay.
But Mendoza never challenged the call, and it ultimately hurt his team in the end.
“[The replay room] missed it,” Mendoza told reporters after the game when asked about not challenging. “We called, and he missed it. [Replay analyst] Harrison [Friedland] is one of the best at his job, and, you know, obviously it ends up being a big play when you lose by one run.
“I also think we had chances, and we didn’t cash in.”
Luckily for the Mets, this failure to challenge didn’t hurt them in the end, defeating the Angels, 5-1, to get to 12-22 on the season.
It’s been a rough start to the 2026 campaign for New York, a team many expected to vie for a playoff spot. Instead, they have endured a 12-game losing streak recently and are now fighting to get back to at least .500.
The Mets need some things on the diamond to go their way, but failure to challenge reviewable plays like these is a way they could get momentum tipping in their favor.
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The world’s largest sporting event, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, is just a few weeks away, returning to North America and the United States for the first time since 1994.
FIFA announced their first ever halftime show for the World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. In a post on X, featuring Elmo, Coldplay announced that the halftime show would be curated by lead singer Chris Martin and feature BTS, Madonna and Shakira. Shakira is set to release the official song of the World Cup, “Dai Dai,” later Thursday.
The show will also “raise funds for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund,” dedicated to “improving access to quality education and football for children around the world.”
FOX broadcasts the entire tournament, with opening matches kicking off on June 11 in Mexico. El Tri hosts South Africa in Mexico City, while South Korea takes on Croatia in Guadalajara.
Then the next day, the other two hosts play their first group stage matches. Canada plays Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto in Group B. Then the US Men’s National Team, coming off a rocky past few months of friendlies, plays its first match against Paraguay in Los Angeles. They then head to Seattle to play Australia on June 19, before closing out the group stage against Turkey back in LA on June 25.
Unsurprisingly, given the scale and scope of the tournament, and the stage hosting in the US offers, FIFA is pulling out all the entertainment stops.
Already, soccer’s governing body has set up an extensive list of entertainment to kick off the tournament in the host countries. An opening ceremony in Los Angeles on June 12 will feature music acts like Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla.
“This opening ceremony in Los Angeles represents the extraordinary scale of what the FIFA World Cup 2026 will become,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement. “The lineup of artists reflects the cultural diversity of the United States and the vibrancy of its many diasporas, highlighting the nation’s rich influence on music, entertainment and pop culture, while showcasing the power of music to bring people together across the country.”
That ceremony will kick off 90 minutes before the start of the US match, and will complement two additional opening ceremonies in Canada and Mexico. The opening match in Toronto will feature performances by Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara, Elyanna, Jessie Reyez, Michael Bublé, Nora Fatehi, Sanjoy, Vegedream and William Prince.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
In Mexico, opening ceremony headliners include Alejandro Fernández, Belinda, Danny Ocean, J Balvin, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules, Maná and Tyla.
Prior performers at World Cup finals include stars like Carlos Santana and Wycleaf Jean at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. Will Smith was among those who sang at the 2018 finale in Russia, and Davido, Aisha, Ozuna were part of the 2022 closing ceremony in Qatar.
Over 100 matches. 16 cities hosting in three countries. Over a month’s worth of action, culminating in a momentous finale in New Jersey. The World Cup never fails to deliver.
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