Toe injury shelves Lagares

Juan Lagares and his Gold Glove are probably gone for the season.

The part-time New York Mets centerfielder is expected to miss the rest of the season because of an injury to the big toe on his left foot. The team announced that Lagares had an MRI and is tentatively scheduled for surgery next week to repair a complete tear of the big toe plantar plate, which is a thick supporting ligament.

“We got the news yesterday,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “That was really tough. I felt really bad for him. He was on a roll and playing great and now this happens.”

Lagares, a 2014 Gold Glove winner who was off to a fine start this season, got hurt Wednesday in the ninth inning of a lopsided loss to Toronto when he ran into the outfield wall to make a catch.

It’s the latest blow to a sputtering Mets squad hit hard by injuries for the third consecutive year. Lagares joins left fielder Yoenis Cespedes, third baseman Todd Frazier and catchers Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki on the DL.

Tempers flare: Benches emptied during the game with the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds in the seventh inning.

It started when Javier Baez exchanged words with Reds reliever Amir Garrett after striking out to end the inning. The fracas was quickly broken up.

Baez hit a grand slam off Garrett last May. This time, Garrett shouted in celebration after fanning Baez, then stared at him and exchanged words.

“If you’re going to show somebody up, at least face up or man up and stay there,” Baez said. “Walk this way.”

“Right now, anybody can strike me out because I’m struggling,” he said.

Said Garrett: “I love the way he plays the game. But if you’re going to dish it, you’ve got to take it.”