CAN’T BE SURE YET
Negative X-ray not positive news
Like a cascading waterfall, the Mets’ misery just never stops. Injuries mount as fast as losses. The latest victim is outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who took a pitch off the pinkie knuckle on his right hand and was forced to leave Sunday’s 8-7 loss to the Dodgers after the sixth inning. X-rays on the hand came back negative. But this is the Mets we’re talking about, and a negative X-ray result doesn’t necessarily mean Nimmo is in the clear.
In spring training, Jason Vargas was hit on his glove hand by a batted ball. His X-rays came back negative. But further testing revealed a broken bone that forced him to miss the first month of the season.
Then there was Kevin Plawecki, who was hit by a pitch on the hand in April. His X-rays came back negative. But further testing revealed a break that forced him to miss a month and a half.
Nimmo — who leads the Mets in OPS at .974 — will undergo an MRI Monday morning. He wore a splint on his right pinkie in the clubhouse after the loss.
“It’s positive news when you hear that it’s negative, but I do understand that there’s a lot of small bones and ligaments and all that stuff in the hand, and it did hit on a rather small part of the hand,” Nimmo said. “I’m optimistic, because it’s not what I think that a broken bone would feel like, but as far as in the hand, like I said, there’s a lot of small bones in there with not a lot of padding. So I’m just going to try and wait until tomorrow to see what they have to say with the MRI, and then we’ll go from there.”
Nimmo was hit by the pitch in the top of the fifth inning. Dodgers starter Rich Hill came inside with a cutter that plunked Nimmo squarely on the knuckle. He tried to run down the baseline but stopped after
two steps and keeled over in pain.
Nimmo initially stayed in the game after speaking with Mickey Callaway and a trainer at first base. He then came around to score on Asdrubal Cabrera's two-run home run and played in center field in the top of the sixth. But when Nimmo's spot in the order was due up next in the bottom half, Michael Conforto stepped out into the on-deck circle. And Conforto then replaced Nimmo in center for the top of the seventh, playing the remainder of the game.
“When I went in to go check and see how it felt swinging, that's when I knew that I wasn't any help to the team anymore,” Nimmo said. “I went in, tried to swing a little bit and got pain right away from the dry swing. Tried with some contact on a few balls, and I just was not able to swing the way I know I should be able to.”