Francisco Alvarez exits early in Mets' win over Twins
New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez reacts after being hit by a pitch by Minnesota Twins pitcher Pablo Lopez during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Craig Lassig) Credit: AP/Craig Lassig
MINNEAPOLIS — X-rays of Francisco Alvarez’s right hand were negative Sunday afternoon, leading the Mets to believe he will be OK after another scare.
“He got an X-ray. So far, so good. That looked clean,” manager Buck Showalter said after a sweep-avoiding 2-0 win over the Twins. “I’m hoping we dodged a problem, but we’ll see how it manages tomorrow.”
Alvarez got hit by a pitch on the outside of his right hand in the fifth inning. Before the bottom of the seventh, Showalter watched as Alvarez started to have problems throwing the ball back to the pitcher. Alvarez indicated to the manager that his forearm was stiffening, and Omar Narvaez replaced him.
“There’s no sense in taking any chances there,” Showalter said.
Alvarez said through an interpreter: “They just wanted to take me out so they can check if there was anything in there.”
DJ Stewart came through with a two-run double off Griffin Jax in the top of the ninth, ending the scoreless tie. He had struck out in his three previous at-bats against righthander Pablo Lopez, who collected a career-high 14 strikeouts in eight innings.
Tylor Megill got through five innings, working around two hits and four walks (three to Edouard Julien). He escaped a two-on, one-out jam in his final frame by getting Alex Kirilloff to ground into a double play.
“They were fouling balls off all day today,” Megill said. “Put together really good at-bats and got me out in the fifth. But overall I threw well.”
Showalter said: “The fastball was crisp . . . I can’t tell you that anything else was as good as it’s capable of being.”
Notes & quotes: Showalter said the Mets will insert a sixth starter, perhaps Joey Lucchesi, into the rotation Wednesday against the Diamondbacks . . . The Mets are 10-31 when they do not hit a home run.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
