Flores breaks his nose on foul ball

HOUSTON — Saturday was a day of the week that ended in “Y,” so naturally the Mets found themselves contending with a new injury.

Wilmer Flores, who slugged a grand slam, the fourth of his career in the first game, was forced out of the nightcap when he fouled off a pitch — directly into his face. Flores was taken to the hospital for X-rays. The preliminary report is he suffered a broken nose.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen it,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “I’ve seen it off the ground, but I’ve never seen it off the bat. It’s scarier when you go out there and the blood is pouring out of your nose.”

Flores was batting in the fourth inning against Astros starter Brad Peacock, and he fouled off a pitch that went straight up and caught him. Flores dropped to the ground and Mets trainers and Collins ran to his side. Flores immediately left the game. Collins said how much time Flores will miss won’t be known until he visits a specialist. Here are some statements from after the Mets’ 12-8 Game 1 loss to the Astros. “It was a lot of fun. It was what I wanted since I was a kid,” said Jacob Rhame.

“It was the greatest thing ever. The adrenaline was kicking,” said Jamie Callahan. “It was what you’ve been waiting for your whole life.”

Gee, can you guess which guys made their major league debuts.

Rhame, acquired from the Dodgers in the Curtis Granderson deal, pitched 1 ¹ /3 scoreless innings, gave up two hits and struck out one. Callahan, acquired from Boston in the Addison Reed trade, gave up two runs, one earned, and three hits in two-thirds of an inning. But both impressed Collins.

“Good arms. They’ve got legitimate good arms. Both of them. Good breaking balls,” Collins said.

Given the thin nature of the Mets’ outfield, the team signed Nori Aoki, a lefty hitter most recently with the Blue Jays.

Aoki, given a major league deal for the remainder of the season, was in the starting lineup for the second game. He led off and played right. He went 1for-5 with an infield single in the 4-1 loss to the Astros.

Aoki, designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on Aug. 29, was working out in a park near his apartment in Toronto.

“There were kids playing on the field next to me,” he said.

Then the Mets called. They finalized the deal Friday night and he flew to Houston on Saturday, arriving during the first game.

“I can see he hasn’t played in a few days,” Collins said. “I’ve seen him enough to know what kind of a player he is. He’ll be fine.”

Seth Lugo pitched five shutout innings before it came apart in the sixth inning of Game 2.

“I really believe anytime you’re coming off a shoulder problem, your arm can get fatigued,” Collins said.

Collins on why he gave lefty hitting Domi

nic Smith the hit sign on 3-0 against a lefty in the second game: “Why the hell not?” Smith, who homered in the first game, ripped an RBI double.

With September call ups, the Mets likely will add a third catcher. One strong possibility is Binghamton’s Tomas Nido.