The San Francisco Giants cannot really afford to make avoidable blunders, with stats showing their average runs per game (2.60) is the lowest of all 30 MLB teams till now. But during their 5-2 loss against the New York Mets, when a baserunning mistake turned costly, the SNY broadcasters did not waste time mincing their words against the Giants’ star third baseman.
Matt Chapman led off the bottom of the ninth with a single against Mets closer Devin Williams. With the Giants trailing by 3 runs and no one else on base, Chapman attempted and failed to steal second on a 1-1 pitch to Rafael Devers. Following the baserunning blunder, the SNY broadcasters were in disbelief at the veteran third baseman’s decision. Awful Announcing posted a video of the moment on X when the Mets’ play-by-play announcer, Gary Cohen, could not hold back calling out Chapman’s “terrible decision.”
“There goes, Chapman. The pitch is high. The throw by Torrens and he’s out by a mile. What are you doing running on this cat?!” Cohen exclaimed on the broadcast. “Torrens bags another one! A terrible decision by Chapman as he gets gunned down for the first out of the ninth with his team down by three runs!
Gary Cohen: “A terrible decision by Chapman as he gets gunned down for the first out of the ninth with his team down by three runs!”
Todd Zeile: “Gunned down, and rightly so. His run means nothing.”
Cohen: “It caps off a horrible, no good, awful week for Matt Chapman.” #MLB pic.twitter.com/zzsUlDvLHA
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 6, 2026
During his attempt to steal second base, Chapman was easily thrown out by the Mets catcher, Luis Torrens. The broadcast showed Torrens boasts the best MLB percentage (41%) of throwing out opposing base-stealers last season. He has caught 20 out of 49 attempts.
In their bid to avoid losing the series, the Giants’ goal should have been getting traffic on the bases, not getting thrown out. With the Mets not displaying any intention of letting the baserunner freely take second, Chapman’s decision appears bizarre.
Todd Zelie highlighted the absurdness, stating, “Boy, that’s a free out right there. Maybe Vientos [Mets’ 1B] knew something we didn’t, thinking that Chapman was going to try to go. I thought that was less likely than anything else we could imagine. But, gunned down, and you know, rightly so. His run means nothing.”
His error becomes more glaring as the Giants added one more baserunner in the inning. Without Chapman’s mistake, the team could have had a tying run and one more out to go.
Chapman entered the second year of his 6-year, $151 million contract with the Giants this season. His latest mistake put an end to the already rough week he was having.
A look into Chapman’s rough week
Chapman has gone 9-for-38, batting at .237 this season. But his struggles were primarily based on the defensive misses during the week.
“It caps off a horrible, no good, awful week for Matt Chapman,” remarked Cohen.
On Wednesday against the San Diego Padres, Chapman grew frustrated with teammate Casey Schmitt after Schmitt missed his high throw. In Schmitt’s defense, the throw was not perfect as well.
As the Padres scored in the fifth, Chapman exclaimed, “Catch the f–king ball.”
Schmitt had flubbed one earlier that afternoon. In the bottom of the first, the Giants charged him with an error on Chapman’s errant throw. The Padres grabbed the game’s first run.
The Giants brushed off the heat postgame. Manager Tony Vitello told reporters, “Same thing you say to your brother in the backyard if he doesn’t catch it.” The Padres rolled to a 7-1 win.
As the series against the New York Mets began, Chapman was again caught in a rough place. During their 9-0 loss to the Mets on Saturday, the soon-to-be 33-year-old 3B lost control of a groundball, allowing the Mets to score two runs.
On Sunday, apart from his baserunning mistake, the five-time Gold Glove winner suffered defensively as well. He made an impressive diving stop at third base during the Mets’ four-run eighth inning, but his throw was amiss. First baseman Rafael Devers failed to pick the ball from the dirt and allowed Torrens to score a run.
The Giants will face the Philadelphia Phillies next on Tuesday.
