Cardinals' Carpenter: Rosenthal's fielding lapse 'just can't happen'

The St. Louis Cardinals coughed up a one-run lead to the New York Mets in the bottom of the eighth inning of Thursday's game. The Mets then walked off the next inning, on an easy play that should've moved the game to extras.

With two outs and a runner on third base, Mets infielder Jose Reyes hit a ground ball to Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter. In this type of play, it is the pitcher's responsibility to cover the bag in case the fielder can't make it back in time. Reliever Trevor Rosenthal didn't cover promptly, Reyes was safe, the run scored, and the game was over.

"It's frustrating when you give games away like that," Carpenter told MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. "That just can't happen. You can make errors. You can strike out. But you can't do that. … Those are things that you can control. Covering the bag. He knows. He knows that. It's just unfortunate."

Rosenthal recognized his mistake, but it's also the second time this month that he hasn't covered first base quickly enough - he did the same thing on July 1 against the Nationals.

"I just got caught watching the play," Rosenthal said. "It's a fundamental play. If we expect guys to play defense behind us, we have to do our part, too. If I go off the bat like I'm supposed to, it's a for-sure out."

The difference is this lapse cost the Cardinals a game they needed to win. The Cardinals are in the middle of a 10-game road trip. A poor showing could push the team out of realistic playoff contention. The Mets series started promising with a pair of wins, but the Cardinals lost on Wednesday and gave Thursday's game away.