ESPN erupted in a commotion with baseball fans scratching their heads and banging on their keyboards in anger after airing the thrilling Game 2 of the Mets-Brewers' National League Wild Card Series.
When the Mets had a chance to take their last at-bat in a 5-on-3 ball game in the top of the ninth inning at American Family Field, the newspaper conducted a live interview with Milwaukee's Garrett Mitchell, who had just hit a leadoff home run. I chose that. —In the dugout in the middle of the at-bat.
After side reporter Jesse Rogers asked a few quick questions, the broadcast shifted its focus back to the game, and Jose Iglesias was seen running into the right field seats.
The bizarre behavior at such a pivotal moment infuriated fans, who quickly took to social media to slam the network for the decision.
“Well, @espn, you want to know what's more important than an in-game interview? The game itself.” a user wrote in X. “It's amazing that with one out in the ninth inning of a 5-on-3 game, I missed the pitch while I was still in the dugout talking to the players.”
“Hey @espn, doing an interview in the dugout in the bottom of the 9th inning is unacceptable.” another person wrote.
“That's really stupid. Whoever had the genius idea to interview a player with two outs left in the game should be canned.” A third person commented.
Rodgers spoke with Mitchell after he hit a two-run homer to advance the winner-take-all game in Game 3 on Thursday.
The Mets led for much of the game, but in the bottom of the eighth inning, reliever Phil Mayton allowed two home runs, giving up three runs.
The National League teams will play their final game Thursday night at 7 p.m. at American Family Field.
Jose Quintana will pitch for the Mets, and Tobias Meyers is ready to head to Milwaukee.
