‘Aggressive’ base-running backfires
Gary DiSarcina was aggressive with his right arm during Tuesday night’s fourth inning, but that was nothing compared to his fist.
The Mets third-base coach was caught on camera punching the dugout wall in disgust upon leaving the field, after Pete Alonso had gotten nailed at the plate to thwart a potential big inning in the team’s 6-3 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Michael Conforto stroked an RBI single against the shift to bring in Javier Baez from third, giving the Mets a 2-1 lead. Alonso, running from second base, was easily thrown out at the plate by Enrique Hernandez
after receiving the green light from DiSarcina. It was the first out in the inning.
“I had to be a little careful not to have the ball hit me [running from second] and I saw him waving and I gave my best effort, but I was a dead duck unfortunately,” Alonso said.
“The throw was on line and [Christian] Vazquez put a good tag on me, so I was out.”
Neither Alonso nor manager Luis Rojas had a chance to speak with DiSarcina during the game or immediately after it about the play.
“I’d rather be on the aggressive side than the tentative side,” Alonso said. “But hindsight is always undefeated.”
➤ Noah Syndergaard’s road back to the Mets will include a pit stop with Triple-A Syracuse, and if all proceeds without a hitch could place him on the major league roster for the final week of the season.
The right-hander is scheduled to pitch Wednesday for Syracuse in a minor league rehab appearance, according to Rojas, and may follow that with one additional Triple-A outing, in his latest comeback attempt.
Syndergaard, who underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020, was on track to rejoin the Mets earlier this month but tested positive for COVID-19 and had to quarantine for 10 days. The plan calls for Syndergaard to pitch from the bullpen (or perhaps as an opener) and limit himself to fastballs and changeups, as he has been advised medically, for the rest of this season.
Another rehabbing pitcher, Jacob deGrom, threw from a bullpen mound at Fenway Park and is expected to repeat the process in Milwaukee on Friday before team officials evaluate whether he might rejoin the major league roster.
“It’s important to see the guys healthy and what they can be and we’re still working on a way to closing the gap with a spot for going to the playoffs, which is our main goal,” Rojas said. “Those two will come in handy if they are at their best, going through their progression.”