The Mets gave the umpires the wrong lineup and were penalized for batting out of order

Here's what happened and what to know about one of the more confusing moments of the season

By Mike Axisa

May 9, 2018 at 1:30 pm ET • 2 min read

Things are not going well for the New York Mets right now. Since starting the season 12-2, the Mets are 6-14, and they've lost seven times in their last eight games. They're now sitting in fourth place in the NL East. Ouch.

During Wednesday afternoon's series finale with the Cincinnati Reds (CIN 2, NYM 1 in 10 innings), the Mets hit a new low with a Little League mistake. They batted out of order in the first inning. Here is the lineup the team announced prior to the game:

Here is today’s lineup. #LGM pic.twitter.com/j7bsIqXQFg
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 9, 2018

The important part: Wilmer Flores is hitting second and Asdrubal Cabrera is hitting third. That is the order in which they batted in the first inning and that is the order the Mets intended.

However, the lineup card the Mets gave the umpires -- the official lineup for the game -- listed Cabrera as the No. 2 hitter and Flores as the No. 3 hitter. So, when Cabrera doubled with two outs in the first inning, Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman called the Mets out on the lineup snafu. Here's the video:

Here's how it works, officially:

Flores struck out and is charged with the strikeout.
Cabrera doubled. As MLB.com's Anthony DiComo notes, the official scorer later wiped away Cabrera's double.
Jay Bruce, the next batter after the lineup mistake, is ruled out. It goes down as a catcher unassisted putout.

The Mets gave everyone the lineup they wanted to use -- the lineup with Flores second and Cabrera third -- except the umpires, who are the only guys who matter. Go figure. MLB rule 6.03(b)(3) explains all this:

When an improper batter becomes a runner or is put out, and the defensive team appeals to the umpire before the first pitch to the next batter of either team, or before any play or attempted play, the umpire shall (1) declare the proper batter out; and (2) nullify any advance or score made because of a ball batted by the improper batter or because of the improper batter's advance to first base on a hit, an error, a base on balls, a hit batter or otherwise.

Bruce gets penalized because Flores and Cabrera batted out of order, which is sort of silly, but those are the rules. The Reds promptly roasted the Mets on Twitter: