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The Mets salvaged the finale of their interleague series in Toronto, holding on for a 6-5 win when former Blue Jays closer Frank Francisco struck out three straight batters in the ninth after allowing a leadoff walk to Yunel Escobar, then single by Jose Bautista through the barren right side of the infield.

Monday's news reports:

• Miguel Batista landed on the DL on Sunday morning with a strained oblique or lower-back muscle. Jeremy Hefner is likely to start Thursday's game against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field in that rotation slot. Chris Schwinden was promoted for Sunday's game as a hedge against Dillon Gee having a short outing, but was not needed. The Mets plan to make another roster move before Monday's series opener in Pittsburgh to add a position player. Vinny Rottino -- who had a three-homer game for Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday -- would appear a logical choice to return to the major league roster. Schwinden is the easiest to return to Buffalo. Manny Acosta would be an alternative, but seemingly less likely choice to get dismissed to free the roster spot.

• Terry Collins for the first time Sunday morning allowed for the possibility of Ike Davis getting sent to the minors if his performance does not show improvement on this trip. Despite a seeming roster crunch looming with Ruben Tejada slated to begin rehab games as soon as today and Jason Bay due to take batting practice in Pittsburgh for the first time this afternoon, there are demotion candidates. Davis is one. And Kirk Nieuwenhuis' production considerably has slowed since the rookie's torrid start.

The added benefit of Nieuwenhuis returning to the minors is it could delay his free agency a year. If Nieuwenhuis were to stay at the major league level continuously, he would be eligible for free agency after his sixth season, during the 2017-18 offseason. If he logs a total of 20 days in the minors this year, he would not get credit for a full major league season in 2012 and would be delayed in free agency at least until the following winter -- 2018-19. Read more in the Daily News, Post and Newsday.

• Andy McCullough in the Star-Ledger writes about Davis' issues:

- He’s hitting too many grounders (50 percent of his balls in play before Sunday, according to FanGraphs.com). In the first inning, Davis hacked at a low, 91-mph sinker and tapped the ball back to Alvarez. With the bases loaded in the fifth, he rolled a fastball into what should have been a double play, except second baseman Kelly Johnson fumbled the exchange.

- His luck has been poor. In the fourth inning, Davis smashed a fastball toward the opposite field -- right into the glove of third baseman Yan Gomes. Entering Sunday's game, Davis was hitting line drives 17.4 percent of the time, or slightly better than 2011’s 17 percent mark. Except his batting average on balls in play was a miniscule .184, nearly 200 points below his career average. “He just needs those [line drives] to fall,” hitting coach Dave Hudgens said.

- He’s not drawing walks. Davis saw exactly three pitches in his first three at-bats Sunday.

• Regarding Nieuwenhuis, Barbara Barker writes in Newsday:

A week ago, he led all major-league rookies with a .302 batting average and was second with 35 hits. He went 1-for-3 with an RBI double and two walks in the Mets' 6-5 win Sunday and is now batting .277 with 38 hits, seven doubles, two home runs, 13 RBIs and 16 walks. "This kid doesn't deserve to go back to Triple-A with the way he's swung the bat so far," Buffalo manager Wally Backman said. "But he needs to play. I think for his development, he needs to play every day." Nieuwenhuis says he can't worry about what the future holds, other than to try to perform his best each day he plays. "It's been pretty cool playing up here with the guys," he said, "but whatever happens, happens. I don't make those decisions. I just have to take one day at a time and focus."

• David Wright returned from a day off Saturday and delivered a two-run double in the first inning as part of a 2-for-4 series finale that raised his average to .412. Wright, still sick, passed Jose Reyes for second on the franchise's all-time hit list with 1,302. He needs 116 more hits to match Mets record-holder Ed Kranepool.

• Mike Baxter had a career-high three hits Sunday while starting for the second straight game with the Mets using an extra position player in their lineup in the AL ballpark. Collins pledged to find Baxter playing time in Pittsburgh, although the manager said not at first base yet, and not on Monday against Pirates left-hander Erik Bedard. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• Gee had a new look and better results. Read more in the Post.

• Read game recaps in the Record, Times, Daily News, Journal, Newsday and Post.

• Collins reiterated Jenrry Mejia is far more likely to help the Mets as a reliever at the major league level in 2012. Read more in Newsday.

• Tim Kurkjian catches up with hot-hitting ex-Met Carlos Beltran at ESPN.com. Kurkjian notes Beltran is two steals shy of 300 swipes and 300 homers in his career, a club that is currently limited to Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez, Andre Dawson, Bobby Bonds, Reggie Sanders and Steve Finley. Writes Kurkjian:

If it weren't for Matt Kemp, Beltran, 35, would be the most valuable player in the National League six weeks into the season. If it weren't for the remarkable Josh Hamilton, May would have been all about Beltran. Not only has he replaced the 2011 production of Albert Pujols in the Cardinals' lineup, he has greatly exceeded it while helping take St. Louis to the front of the National League Central, all while dazzling his new teammates. "When I ran out on the field with him the first time in spring training,'' said Cardinals third baseman David Freese, "I knew he was the most complete player I'd ever played with.''

Lance Berkman, who also was Beltran's teammate during that prolific 2004 postseason with Houston that set up Beltran's seven-year, $119 million contract with the Mets told Kurkjian: "It's funny. An elite player has some things happen to him for three or four years, like injuries, then he becomes an elite player again, and people ask, 'What's going on here?' Just look at the back of his baseball card. He is as complete a player as I've ever played with. He does everything well, and he looks good doing it. When you look at what a player is supposed to do, he's about as good as it gets.''

• Corey Wimberly stole home for Buffalo's lone run in a 4-1 loss to Indianapolis on Sunday. It was the second time a Mets farmhand has swiped home this season. Wimberly had a pure steal of the plate, while Binghamton's Josh Rodriguez stole home on April 21 as part of a double-steal. Read Sunday's full minor league recap here.

• Forty-thousand Orthodox Jews packed Citi Field on Sunday to decry the internet. Read more in the Daily News.

• Michael Howard Saul in the Journal revealed that Citi Field, now in its fourth season, still does not have all its full permits from the city in order. Mayor Michael Bloomberg at last week's All-Star Game press conference dismissed the issue as procedural and insignificant and insisted the stadium was safe. Wrote Saul, alluding to the City Hall announcement about next season's Mid-Summer Classic:

Unmentioned was the embarrassing fact that the three-year-old stadium in Queens still hasn’t received a certificate of occupancy from the city. The stadium has a temporary certificate, which means it is “safe and legal to occupy,” said Tony Sclafani, a spokesman for the Department of Buildings, in an email.

TRIVIA: For which former Pirate Pirate is the yellow bridge spanning the Allegheny River adjacent to PNC Park named?

Sunday's answer: Jason Bay was the last Pirate to have a multi-homer game against the Mets. At Shea Stadium on July 24, 2007, Bay went deep off John Maine and Guillermo Mota.

TORONTO -- David Wright did more than downplay grabbing sole possession of second place on the Mets’ all-time hits list Sunday, which he accomplished with a two-run double in the first inning.

Wright insisted he was unaware that he entered the game tied with ex-teammate Jose Reyes with 1,300 hits apiece in a Mets uniform.

“I didn’t even know,” Wright said. “Obviously getting hits is a good thing. Hopefully there’s a lot more to come.”

Wright, who already has passed Darryl Strawberry for the franchise’s career RBI record this season, sits at 1,302 hits after a 2-for-4 series finale in Toronto that lifted his average to .412.

Ed Kranepool has the franchise record with 1,418 -- at least for a little bit longer.

If Wright continues at this at-bat rate -- 131 ABs through 41 games -- he would need to hit .300 during his remaining at-bats (116-for-387) to match Kranepool in Game No. 162 this year.

Wright’s production for most of the season has come with a broken right pinkie. As of late, he also has dealt with a severe cold that left him unavailable to even pinch-hit Saturday. Ike Davis and Bobby Parnell also currently are under the weather with the flu or a similar malady that is making the rounds through the clubhouse.

“I feel a little bit better,” Wright said. “My last few days I’ve just been fairly achy -- your (whole) body. Today that’s gone down a little bit. So hopefully a short flight tonight and I’ll get some rest.”

WHAT IT MEANS: The weekend wasn’t a total loss, at least. In their first visit to Toronto in six years, the Mets salvaged the series finale, beating the Blue Jays, 6-5, Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre.

Barely.

Bobby Parnell surrendered a pair of eighth-inning runs, including an RBI single to Colby Rasmus that snapped the ex-Cardinal’s 0-for-20 skid, as Toronto rallied to within a run. But Tim Byrdak made his 24^th appearance in 41 games to retire lefty-hitting Kelly Johnson on a flyout to right field and end that frame.

In the ninth, ex-Blue Jays closer Frank Francisco, who was loudly jeered upon entering, closed things out despite a leadoff walk to Yunel Escobar and ensuing single by Jose Bautista that placed the winning run on base with none out. Francisco struck out the next three batters.

WELCOME BACK: After scheduled day off, and with his illness having somewhat improved, David Wright delivered a two-run double in the first inning against Jays right-hander Henderson Alvarez. It was hit No. 1,301 of Wright’s career, which passed ex-teammate Jose Reyes for sole possession of second on franchise’s all-time list. Ed Kranepool has the highest hit total as a Met for now: 1,418. Wright now stands at 1,302. He finished Sunday’s game 2-for-4 with a walk, albeit with an eighth-inning strikeout that stranded the bases loaded and kept the score 6-3. His average now stands at .412.

(Wright wasn’t solely at fault for a scoreless eighth. Ike Davis doubled and advanced to third on a passed ball, but was thrown out at the plate on a pitch that similarly eluded catcher J.P. Arencibia.)

BAXTER BURNING: Mike Baxter, starting for a second straight game with the pitcher not batting in the American League ballpark, went 3-for-4 with a walk. He fell a homer shy of producing the second cycle by a Met this season (Scott Hairston at Colorado on April 27, in an 18-9 loss). Baxter’s hit total achieved a career high, and lifted his average to .390, in 41 at-bats. Baxter even was the subject of taunts from fans in the left-field stands.

After being deprived of a would-be ninth-inning double Saturday with an incorrect out call at second base, Baxter doubled and tripled in the first two inings Sunday while starting in left field. The latter extra-base hit scored Ronny Cedeno and staked the Mets to a 4-0 lead.

GEE MINOR: Clean-shaven Dillon Gee completed 6 2/3 innings and notched his first win since April 28 at Colorado. He departed after an RBI single by Jose Bautista pulled the Jays within 6-3. Parnell entered and stranded Bautista by coaxing a fielder’s choice groundout by Edwin Encarnacion.

Gee’s final line: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 1 HBP. He threw 113 pitches (67 strikes). He surrendered a third-inning solo homer to Bautista that pulled the Jays within 4-2 at the time.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Mets, in businesslike attire, head through customs and travel to Pittsburgh. Johan Santana (1-2, 2.89 ERA) opposes left-hander Erik Bedard (2-5, 3.07) in Monday’s 7:05 p.m. opener.

Recap | Box score | Photos

WHAT IT MEANS: Life without Jose Reyes does not only mean lacking a leadoff hitter. There's a drop-off at shortstop, too.

Replacement Ruben Tejada committed two errors Thursday afternoon, the latter on Aaron Cunningham’s routine grounder with two out in the eighth, which allowed Cameron Maybin to score the tiebreaking run as the Padres beat the Mets 3-2.

Maybin appeared a certain out earlier in the inning when Jon Niese's pickoff move caught the ex-Marlin breaking for second base. However, Lucas Duda's throw to Tejada was too late in the estimation of second base ump Bill Welke and Maybin was ruled safe.

A half-inning after the error, Tejada (0-for-2, two walks) also grounded out with two out to strand Duda at second base.

San Diego earned a split of the four-game series as the Mets dipped under .500, at 58-59. If it's still relevant, the Mets dropped 10½ games behind the Braves in the wild-card standings.

YOU'RE OUT … YOU TOO: After Nick Evans was called out on strikes to end the fifth inning and strand the bases loaded, plate umpire Vic Carapazza ejected hitting coach Dave Hudgens for arguing from the dugout. Terry Collins then briefly came onto the field to take over. It was the third ejection of a Met this season; Collins had the other two.

BASES COVERED: David Wright passed Ed Kranepool for the franchise's record for total bases with No. 2,048, on a fifth-inning single.

NIESE EFFORT: The tough-luck-loser Niese took a scoreless effort into the sixth inning, when Maybin homered with one out to pull the Padres within 2-1. An inning later, Luis Martinez's two-out RBI single through the left side of the infield evened the score. Niese completed 7 2/3 innings before being pulled following Tejada's second error. The southpaw matched his longest outings this season (June 3 and June 9). Niese's 122 pitches matched his career high.

DUDE: Duda's two-run double beyond the reach of the right fielder Cunningham had staked the Mets to a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Duda is hitting .325 (40-for-123) with 22 RBIs in his past 41 games.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Mets, accompanied by their families, head west for stops at Arizona and then San Diego. Dillon Gee (10-3, 3.93 ERA) opposes Diamondbacks right-hander Ian Kennedy (14-3, 3.20) in Friday's 9:40 p.m. ET series opener.

Recap | Box Score | Photos

WHAT IT MEANS: The Mets had a late deficit for the third straight game against San Diego, but this time fell short and slipped to .500, at 58-58. Bobby Parnell surrendered three runs in the top of the ninth, including Jesus Guzman swiping home on a double-steal, to make any possible comeback bid an overwhelming task. The Mets fell 10 games behind wild-card-leading Atlanta.

OUCH: Angel Pagan departed in the fourth inning with lower back spasms and was replaced by Jason Pridie.

DEBUTANT: Queens product Mike Baxter went 1-for-3 with two walks in his first career major league start. He manned right field.

BAY WATCH: Jason Bay went 0-for-4 with a walk as his hitting streak ended at 11 games, which matched his longest as a Met (also May 7-17, 2010). Bay’s career-high hitting streak was 14 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2005.

BASE KNOT: With a fifth-inning double, David Wright tied Ed Kranepool for the franchise record with 2,047 total bases as a Met.

SLIP AND SLIDE: The Mets had chances against Padres starter Aaron Harang, including loading the bases with none out in the second inning. However, R.A. Dickey flied out to right field, too shallow for Baxter to tag up from third. Pagan then struck out looking and Justin Turner grounded into a fielder’s choice as the opportunity went for naught.

After San Diego had built a 5-0 lead against Dickey, the knuckleballer drove in the Mets’ first run with a fourth-inning RBI single. However, Ruben Tejada then was thrown out at home tagging on Pridie’s fly ball to left field. Tejada did not slide on the play.

Dickey was replaced by pinch-hitter Nick Evans in the sixth. Evans produced a two-out double that scored Josh Thole. Pridie then plated Evans with a single, pulling the Mets within 5-3 and chasing Harang.

Thole went 4-for-5 -- his lone out coming on a fly ball to center field against left-handed reliever Josh Spence with two out in the seventh that stranded runners on the corners. He also had a four-hit game in 2009 against Philadelphia. Tejada went 3-for-5.

Dickey’s final line: 6 IP, 5 R, 3 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 K.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Mets conclude a four-game series with the Padres on Thursday at 12:10 p.m. as Jon Niese (11-8, 4.12) opposes San Diego left-hander Cory Luebke.

It's arguably more likely that the next Mets minority owner is not the one seeking to publicize his or her interest, but some groups have started to openly express interest:

One person is Mike Repole, who owns Kentucky Derby entrant Uncle Mo and made a fortune with the sale of Vitaminwater to Coca-Cola, according to the Daily News.

The Post countered by identifying Martin Luther King III, son of the late civil rights leader, as a potential buyer. That group reportedly also would include Ed Kranepool and Donn Clendenon Jr., son of the ex-Met. However, that group wants at least a 50 percent stake, according to the newspaper, which is not what Fred Wilpon said is for sale.

Finally, multiple reports name Martin Silver, owner of Georgi Vodka, who has been outspoken for a while in wanting to purchase the club.

David Wright is one strikeout shy of matching his career high and it seems inevitable that he'll get his 140th in the very near future, given the way he's been hitting lately.

It also seems inevitable that Wright will end up on the wrong side of Mets history. Wright is closing in on the Mets single-season strikeout record of 156, shared by Tommie Agee (1970) and Dave Kingman (1982).

On the bright side, Wright has a few positive milestones within reach. There's not much left to play for other than numbers at this point in the season, so let's take a look at a few potential accomplishments for him and his teammates in this final month of baseball.

If Wright plays in 23 of the Mets 29 remaining games, he'll become the ninth Met to reach 1,000 games played, the first to reach 1,000 since Edgardo Alfonzo.

Both Wright and Jose Reyes should move up a spot in a career milestone of note. Wright's 625 runs scored are two shy of second-best in Mets history, 627 by current hitting coach Howard Johnson. Reyes currently stands at 624.

Both will likely pass record-holder Darryl Strawberry's 662 next season (Reyes will need his option picked up to have a chance).

Strawberry's club RBI mark of 733 is also within reach in 2011. Nine more RBI and Wright will vault ahead of Mike Piazza's 655 career RBI as a Met, second-best in club annals.

A dozen more hits and Wright will move into third place on the Mets all-time hit list, passing Alfonzo's 1,136. Ed Kranepool's record of 1,418 is probably two seasons away.

One more sacrifice fly and Wright will become the third Met to reach 50 of those, joining Kranepool (58) and Johnson (50). With an NL-best, 11 sacrifice flies, Wright is four shy of the club's single-season mark, shared by Gary Carter (1986) and Johnson (1991).

Wright's corner mate, Ike Davis has a couple of goals within reach for his inaugural campaign. He needs five home runs to become the second rookie in Mets history with a 20-homer season, joining Strawberry (1983).

Davis also has the NL lead in a statistic of which he's probably not aware. Baseball Info Solutions charts every ball hit in the major leagues and pegs Davis as the leader in "Runs Saved." among National League first basemen this season.

Runs Saved measures a first baseman's ability to turn balls hit his way into outs (and prevent singles from becoming doubles) and defend bunts.

Davis has 13, significantly more than the next-closest NL first baseman (Aubrey Huff, with seven).

On the mound, the pickings are slimmer. R.A. Dickey is playing for not only a potential contract extension, but a chance at having the best ERA by a Mets starter in a long time.

Dickey's ERA is 2.56, a shade higher than Johan Santana's 2.53 when he won the NL ERA title in 2008. Drop it below that and the next goal in site is Al Leiter's 2.47, from 1998, his first year with the Mets.

Get it lower than that and you're in some pretty good company, headed towards the 2.22 of David Cone in 1988, seventh-best in Mets history, the lowest since Dwight Gooden's club record 1.53 in 1985.

Lastly with 70 games pitched, Pedro Feliciano leads the National League and is tied for the big league's top spot with Tampa Bay Rays lefty specialist Randy Choate. For the Mets to have a statistical champion in 2010, they need either Wright to keep hitting sacrifice flies, or Feliciano to continue to pitch frequently (this is what it's come to, folks).

If Feliciano leads the NL in games pitched again, he'd be the third NL pitcher to do that three years in a row since the end of World War II (1945), the first since Steve Kline (1999-2001).

David Wright’s sixth-inning double off Chicago Cubs left-hander Tom Gorzelanny drove in Jose Reyes with the first run in the Mets’ 5-2 victory Thursday. It also gave Wright 225 career doubles, pulling the third baseman even with Ed Kranepool for the franchise record.

Kranepool had a pinch-hit double in his final major league game, on Sept. 30, 1979 against St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Bob Forsch. It took Kranepool 1,853 games to get to that doubles total. Wright achieved it in 863 games.

Kranepool makes appearances at Mets games as frequently as any player from that era -- he attended Wednesday’s alumni festivities at Citi Field -- although Wright said their interactions have been limited.

“But every time I’ve talked to him, he’s always had words of encouragement for me and really tried to help me out as much as he could,” Wright said. “Having those former guys around, whether it’s Ed or HoJo or anybody else, you can kind of use that to your advantage.”

Kranepool does have one accomplishment Wright can never duplicate. The product of James Monroe High School in the Bronx debuted in the majors seven weeks before his 18^th birthday.

“Seventeen?” Wright asked. “… No, I can’t even imagine playing in the big leagues at 17. It’s a pretty special career.”

Speaking of 17, Wright struck out three times Thursday. He has now struck out in a career-high nine straight games -- and 17 times in total during that stretch.

ACE HIGH: Johan Santana’s scoreless streak ended at 15 innings, but the left-hander improved to 2-1 and shaved his ERA to 2.59 by limiting the Cubs to one run on eight hits while striking out five and walking none in 6 1/3 innings. Santana, who had blanked the St. Louis Cardinals for seven innings Saturday in what became a 20-inning victory for the Mets, tossed 103 pitches against Chicago.

“I felt pretty good,” Santana said. “I was able to throw my changeup tonight, hit the spots and then get some of those guys out. It was a battle. I knew coming into this game we had a pretty good chance to win this series. Everything worked out pretty good.”

BIG BLUE MYSTERY: Wright is an ardent New York Giants supporter, fantasy football aficionado and Virginia Tech football fan, but the third baseman couldn’t offer much insight about first-round pick Jason Pierre-Paul, a defensive end from South Florida.

“I don’t know too much about him,” Wright confessed. “But I like it.”

SCREENED: The Mets lead swelled to 4-0 by the end of the sixth inning on a two-out fielding error by second baseman Mike Fontenot on Angel Pagan’s routine grounder, which allowed Jeff Francoeur and Ike Davis to score.

Rod Barajas, running from first to second on the play, maintained he likely contributed to Fontenot’s flub by running in front of the second baseman -- although, the slow-footed Barajas confessed, his timing was coincidental.

“When he hit the ball, I wasn’t thinking about trying to get in the way,” Barajas said. “But it hit the plate and it bounced up so high that when I looked up to see where it was at, I lost it in the lights. I didn’t know where it was at, so I kind of hesitated for a second. I said, ‘OK, just run.’ So I started running. I think it definitely played a factor. When you’ve got somebody as big as me right in front of you right before the ball gets there, you’re going to lose track of the ball.”

CITI LIKES IKE: Davis’ first major league start against a left-handed pitcher went well. The rookie went 3-for-4, with two singles off southpaw Tom Gorzelanny and an eighth-inning double against right-hander Justin Berg.

Davis is 6-for-15 (.400) since Monday’s promotion, with four of those hits coming against left-handers.

Davis’ six total hits are one shy of the best four-game start by a Met making his major league debut, according to ESPN’s Stats & Information Department. Three rookies had seven hits in their opening four games: Mike Jacobs (2005), Keith Miller (1987) and Rod Gaspar (1969).

“In my career I’ve hit lefties decently,” Davis said. “I haven’t hit like .400 against them or anything, but I’m going to get my knocks off lefties. I mean, they’re going to strike me out, but I’m going to get them a couple of times. I’m going to battle up there. Against lefties, for me, it’s a battle.”

Manager Jerry Manuel suggested Gorzelanny’s decision to pitch to the righty-hitting Francoeur in the sixth with two out, first base open and the lefty-hitting Davis on deck was a sign of respect for the rookie.

Of course, Francoeur noted, the ex-Brave had been in a pronounced slump, which must have contributed, too.

“Well, the way he had been hitting, and when you’re 0-for-24, I probably would have done the same thing if I was (Cubs manager) Lou (Piniella),” Francoeur said. “If it was last week and I was hitting the way I was, they probably would have walked me at that point.”

SNAPPED: Francoeur’s career-high hitting drought did end at 0-for-24, even if he hardly crushed an RBI single through the right side of the infield.

“To get that, it’ll relax me now,” Francoeur said. “… I’ll take what I can get. The fact that I waited on the ball and went the other way, that was my goal all day hitting in the cage.”

SERIOUS WIN: The Mets beat the Cubs three of four games, after going 1-2 in each of the season’s first four series. The Mets had last lost their first four series in 1997, when they went 1-2 at San Diego, 1-2 at San Francisco, 1-2 at Los Angeles and 0-3 versus San Francisco.

Despite a 7-9 record and occupying last place in the National League East, the Mets only trail the first-place Philadelphia Phillies by 3½ games.

“It’s big for us confidence-wise and record-wise to be able to take three out of four from this team,” Wright said. “I think we knew we had a good chance with Johan on the mound.”
ROOKIE INITIATION: Count Francisco Rodriguez among the players who thought Jenrry Mejia probably deserved a strike call on a belt-high, full-count offering to Geovany Soto in the eighth. Plate umpire Mark Carlson ruled the pitch a ball, loading the bases and prompting Manuel to summon K-Rod for a five-out save.

Mejia diplomatically said it’s just part of being a young player.

K-Rod, after reviewing the video, opined: “He got a little squeezed out there.”