SAN DIEGO – The Mets received two injured members of their lineup, the best possible diagnosis they could hope for on Wednesday.
Pete Alonso and Starling Marte are both considered day-to-day after the Mets’ defeat against Padres on Tuesday night.
Alonso’s right hand was hit by U Darwish fastball and after being caught trying to steal another base, Marte dropped an inning to the left with the discomfort of the quadriceps. The initial X-ray on Alonso’s arm was negative, and subsequent imaging showed no fractures or fractures in the arm. Marte was less specific about his quad, but said he was feeling better and hoped he would avoid the injury list.
“Today was as much positive news as we had hoped for,” manager Buck Schulter said before the Mets’ 13-2 defeat in the final of the series.
Alonso said his hand was swollen, compared to an injury he suffered last May, and that the effects had diminished. Alonso will not rule out an IL term for this, saying the situation should be clarified in a day or two.
Neither Alonso nor Marte were in Wednesday’s starting lineup.
“We’re going to rehabilitate and treat this thing and see how quickly it responds,” Alonso said. “We will not put a timeline on it, but there will be no breaks and fractures, which is too big. A scary moment, but we are glad that everything is fine and we will treat this until we get back. ”
Alonso played 151 straight games last season and that was his goal to play this year, but now that goal will improve.
“I still think I’ll play more than 162 games because we’re getting to the playoffs, if we get it right,” Alonso said. “I want to be ready for the long haul and play by October so the math will probably be more than 162 [games].”
Alonso has entered the early National League MVP conversation with a thunderclap. He entered the lead MLB with 54 RBIs on Wednesday and his 16 homers were paired with Mookie Bates for the NL lead.
JD Davis has started playing first base in recent days, giving the Mets a strong bat in this position until Alonso returns. Davis started from first base on Monday – her first post-2018 act with the Astros – and replaced Alonso after forcing him to leave the game one night later.
Alonso indicated that he was hit in the arm “flesh” on the fifth metacarpal.
“It’s part of the game, especially when the kids throw up and go up,” Alonso said. “It simply came to our notice then. They have a history because I have injured my right hand in the past.
Marte’s game relies heavily on his feet, so the Mets seem to be playing cautiously with this quadriceps injury. The experienced outfielder has a .277 / .316 / .441 slash line with seven homers, 33 RBIs and eight steals.
“Thank God I’m fine,” Marte said. “It simply came to our notice then. We’ve been working hard since morning to fix it and we’ll keep working and I’ll be back soon. “
Marte said he injured his leg while trying to stay on his feet during a burglary attempt.
“I felt a kind of cramp in a sense,” Marte said. “But they were worried because I was not doing well after the play. But once I took a short walk and went to the outfield, it got a little better, but today I feel much better. ”
Khalil Leela was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to give the Mets another player. Mets would have otherwise only had a backup catcher available.
Mark Kanha turned right with Marte’s departure on Tuesday and remained in that position on Wednesday, with Jeff McNeil on the left and Brandon Nimmo in the middle – an alignment that put Luis Guillerme on the second leg.
