OUCH! IT HURTS AGAIN
Just when Mets start feeling good, injury bug returns
IN THE bottom of the first inning of the Mets’ 5-1 loss to the Phillies on Sunday at Citi Field, Asdrubal Cabrera dropped down a bunt to the third-base side and started sprinting toward first.
As he approached the bag, Cabrera stretched his right leg forward, trying to beat a quick throw from Philadelphia starter Vince Velazquez. The ball sailed high and past first baseman Tommy Joseph, who jumped in the air before colliding with Cabrera on his way down.
Cabrera was safe at first, but he was in noticeable pain as he jogged away, grabbing at his back and left arm. He then squatted as trainers tended to him. While Cabrera remained briefly in the game, he departed one batter later with what the Mets called a sore left knee, joining Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker in the home dugout.
Both Cespedes (quad) and Walker (back) sat out because of their respective lingering ailments. And just when the Mets started showing signs of life — they entered Sunday having won six of seven games — injuries moved to the forefront yet again.
“You just got to keep fighting. You just got to keep trying to get guys rested, keep them as healthy as you can and if they can’t go, run somebody else out there. And you hope they come through for you when you need them,” said manager Terry Collins, whose Mets remain 2.5 games back of the second NL wild card spot after the Cardinals also lost Sunday. “But with the way, all of a sudden, we’ve played here in the last four or five days, that took a little air out of the balloon in that first inning.”
By the end of the game, the Mets lineup featured just two players — Travis d’Arnaud and Curtis Granderson — who were in the starting lineup on Opening Day. The current disabled list includes Lucas Duda, David Wright and Juan Lagares, who all started the season opener, as well as Steven Matz, Matt Harvey and Jon Niese.
“It’s been certainly an interesting year and frustrating at times,” said Walker, who hopes to be back in the lineup Monday. “It’s day-by-day right now. Guys come in here, and you see who’s good to go and who’s not.”
Cespedes aggravated his quad rounding third base in Saturday’s blowout win over the Phillies. He missed 14 games earlier this month because of the same injury. Collins is confident the Cuban slugger will be back on the field Monday.
Walker has managed his back issue over the last couple weeks, missing four games in mid-August to rest before taking four more days off for the birth of his first child.
Cabrera missed 17 games at the start of August because of a strained patella tendon in his left knee, the same one he tweaked Sunday. Collins said the team will have to wait until Monday to determine the severity of the setback.
“We’ll have to continue to monitor how they feel each day,” Collins said of the trio. With the Mets’ starting rotation also dwindling because of injuries, 23-yearold rookie righthander Robert Gsellman made his first MLB start Sunday. He allowed just one run through his first six innings, but surrendered three straight singles to open the seventh, loading the bases.
Collins then opted to bring in Hansel Robles, who entered Sunday with a 6.10 ERA in the second half, and the righthander imploded. Robles allowed a two-RBI double to catcher A.J. Ellis before hitting a batter to bring in a third run. Jerry Blevins then entered for Robles, and leadoff batter Cesar Hernandez connected on a sacrifice fly to left to extend the Phillies’ lead to 5-1.
When the damage was done, Gsellman finished with a line of four earned runs over six-plus innings. He struck out five and surrendered seven hits.
The Mets went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, lowering their already-league-worst .216 RISP average.
Playing without Cespedes, Walker and Cabrera certainly didn’t help their cause.