WRIGHT OUT WITH SHOULDER INJURY; METS FALL IN 11:
Will have MRI on sore shoulder
PITTSBURGH — After aggravating a nagging shoulder injury Thursday night, David Wright was a late scratch for Friday’s game against the Pirates at PNC Park. The Mets’ third baseman was sent back to New York to have an MRI Saturday on his “sore” left shoulder, which he said he initially injured stealing second base earlier this month.
“I did something to my shoulder. It was just something I could play through and feel productive out there,” Wright said Friday of his nonthrowing shoulder. “It was not an issue, but then last night, on a couple different occasions I seemed to reaggravate it. It got worse. I was hoping to be able to push through it, but they obviously shut that down.
“We’ll follow the protocol like normal,” Wright said. “I’ll head back for an MRI and hopefully it would just be some rest and an injection. Hopefully I’ll be back in a couple days.”
“I think it’s the best option,” Terry Collins said regarding Wright having his shoulder checked out. The manager said Friday was the first time he had heard that the shoulder was “bothering” Wright. “I absolutely salute him for coming and saying something . . . with what he did with the back a couple of years ago, with what he did last year with the leg, when he just plays through stuff,” Collins said.
Collins used Eric Campbell at third base after Wright was scratched about two hours before the scheduled first pitch. For now, the skipper said the Mets will continue to use Campbell in the short term. In Triple-A Friday night, however, Wilmer Flores, who had played second base in his first game after a demotion, was moved to third after brass there were told Wright had been scratched.
Wright said he initially injured the shoulder on a muddy day at Citi Field stealing second base. “I stole a base late in the game. The field was muddy and so I dove in headfirst and I usually go feet first,” Wright said. “I felt something jam into the mud into my shoulder.”
While Wright could not remember the date or the team, the scenario sounds like June 12, a 13-inning loss to the Brewers at Citi Field. It was a rainy night, and Wright was seen stretching his arms after stealing second.
That was also the last time Wright has attempted to steal a base this season, but he said the issue was not enough to prevent him from being able to play.
“It’s something that’s bothered me, but there is a difference (between) bothering and prohibiting me from doing what I normally do on the baseball field. . . . Weeks ago it was bothering me, not prohibiting me,” Wright said. “Now, as of last night, it was prohibiting me.”
Since June 12, Wright has hit .308 with two home runs and nine RBI. He extended his hitting streak to 10 games Thursday night with an RBI double in the eighth inning.
Wright said he started to feel more pain in the shoulder when he tagged Pirates first baseman Ike Davis in a fourth-inning rundown Thursday night. In the bottom of the eighth inning on a ground ball, Wright said he felt more pain.
Wright tried to get ready to play on Friday afternoon, but it became apparent to Mets personnel that he was in pain. He was scratched from the lineup at that point, and the brass insisted that he go to New York for exams. Having missed 45 games because he tried to play through a “tight” hamstring last season, Wright willingly went along with the plan.
“I think I am getting better, especially going through a hamstring (problem) last year, (knowing) what I can play through and what I kinda can’t play t h roug h,” Wright said. “This was kind of taken out of my hands when I came in. They started going through the normal thing when they were trying to get me warmed up for the game and some things were hurting more than usual.
“That’s when they took it out of my hands and said they wanted me to go get an MRI so it doesn’t get any worse,” Wright said.