Collins plays it safe with d’Arnaud

ATLANTA — Travis d’Arnaud insisted he is not worried. Manager Terry Collins seemed to feel the same.

But these are the Mets and this was an injury, so worry is always warranted.

D’Arnaud exited Tuesday’s 9-7 loss to the Braves at SunTrust Park in the sixth inning when his right wrist tightened. That’s the same wrist that limited d’Arnaud to pinch-hitting duties for four games after, while throwing, he banged and bruised it on the bat of Philadelphia’s Aaron Altherr on April 19.

“The lineout I had to right, I felt something funky in my wrist. Tightened up, tried to go out there for the next half inning but it didn’t loosen up, so I said something to Terry,” said d’Arnaud, who claimed no lingering effects from the last event. “No, just today. Flared up during the game, didn’t loosen up so I said something.”

Asdrubal Cabrera remains under strict Mets’ supervision.

“I’ve had him in [the office], I can’t tell you how many times, checking on his leg,” Collins said before Tuesday’s loss. “But I do know if what [players] are saying coincides with what they really feel.”

Cabrera had leg soreness on the Mets’ last homestand that led to him getting an unscheduled day off. Collins initially described the discomfort as a hamstring issue, but now says it’s the back of Cabrera’s knee that has been monitored. Dwight Gooden wonif Noah Synder

gaard’s quest to throw harder — which included bulking up with muscle over the winter — contributed to the Mets ace sustaining a partially torn lat muscle that will keep him sidelined for an extended period.

“A lot of times when you see a lot of injuries, espe- cially Tommy Johns now, I don’t think the pitchers are training for their position,” Gooden said at BTIG Charity Day in Manhattan. “I think they are training to get bigger and stronger and throw harder, but to me pitching is about mechanics. Changing speeds. Reading bat speeds. That’s pitching.”

Wilmer Flores played in a rehab game for Triple-A Las Vegas where he went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored in the 51s’ 5-3 loss to Tacoma. He could be ready to rejoin the Mets when they return home Friday, according to Collins. Flores was placed on the disabled list April 21 with a right knee infection.