On Saturday night, Brandon Nimmo acknowledged it was getting tougher to remain positive. On Sunday, he was forced to leave the game with an injury.
Even the Mets’ biggest bright spot can’t avoid the dark cloud that is enveloping this lost season in Queens.
Nimmo was struck on the right hand by an 87 mph cut fastball from Rich Hill in the fifth inning and had to leave the game following the sixth with right pinkie soreness. X-rays were negative, but he will get an MRI exam on Monday to further determine the severity of the injury.
“As of right now, I’m hopeful that I won’t have to take any, if at all, time off,” he said after the Mets dropped their sixth straight, 8-7 in 11 innings, to the Dodgers at Citi Field. “But obviously we’re going to know more after [the MRI].”
Nimmo, who has been the Mets’ biggest surprise, slashing .283/.403/.571 with a .974 OPS, initially stayed in the game. But the finger began to throb. When he attempted to swing the bat, it became painful.
“That’s when I knew I wasn’t any help to the team anymore,” Nimmo said. “I was not able to swing the way I should be able to.”
After Jose Bautista led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a walk, the Dodgers put a shift on Dominic Smith, leaving the entire left side of the infield open. Manager Mickey Callaway considered bunting, but Smith’s inexperience with the play deterred him from doing so.
“We thought about bunting, but Dom’s never bunted in his professional career,” Callaway said. “We didn’t think that would be a good idea. We wanted him to drive the ball like he had been doing.”
Instead, Smith struck out and the Mets failed to push across the game-winning run.
Jason Vargas, placed on the 10-day disabled list Saturday night and scratched from his scheduled start Sunday, was able to pitch without feeling any discomfort in his right calf. It was how he felt getting off the mound to field his position or cover first base that was the problem. He initially suffered the injury Wednesday while running the day after his last start. And when he tested it Saturday, Vargas realized he couldn’t take the ball Sunday.
“We thought the best thing to do was not taking the chance of pulling something there,” said the left-hander, who has been a major disappointment, to the tune of an 8.60 ERA. “It was definitely an issue [on Saturday] when we tried to simulate what would happen in a game.”
Vargas doesn’t expect to be out long.
“I’m hoping we’re making the right decision and that way we’re able to get back to business as usual,” he said.
Outfielder Kevin Kaczmarski made his major league debut as a pinch hitter in the fourth inning. He grounded out.
The Mets reportedly are calling up Double-A reliever Tyler Bashlor after using almost their entire bullpen in Sunday’s loss. The team’s 11th-round pick in 2013, Bashlor has a 2.63 ERA, 30 strikeouts and 14 hits allowed in 24 innings this year.
