Mets' Jeff McNeil OK after slamming into wall while making catch
Jeff McNeil #1 of the Mets ran into the wall after catching a fly ball in the bottom of the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on May 25, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Credit: Getty Images/Michael Urakami
SAN FRANCISCO — Jeff McNeil said he was OK after slamming into the leftfield side wall while making a sliding catch early in the Mets’ 9-3 loss to the Giants on Wednesday.
His now-bruised left knee absorbed the brunt of the collision, he said, but “everything hit” the wall. He left the game minutes later, replaced by pinch hitter Travis Jankowski, for what he called precautionary reasons.
Manager Buck Showalter said McNeil went through the concussion protocol; McNeil noted that he “felt good head-wise.”
“All good,” McNeil said. “I feel good and ready to go on Friday [after the Mets’ day off Thursday].”
Showalter said: “Great catch. Jeez.”
With the Mets down by eight at the time of Donovan Walton’s fly ball down the leftfield line, McNeil had little reason to risk his body for the out. But he isn’t wired to do anything less.
“It’s who I am, how I’ve played the game for my whole life,” he said. “I don’t think I’m ever going to stop playing hard. You don’t want to let that ball drop and have a double. I’m going to go all out and keep making those plays.
“It was a good play. I wasn’t expecting to hit the wall at all. That ball is a fair ball. When you slide and catch a ball in fair territory, you don’t expect to hit a wall. I did.”
Tough gig
Stephen Nogosek was the odd man out Wednesday, sent down to Triple-A Syracuse when the Mets needed to make room for their starter, Thomas Szapucki.
He became the obvious choice despite — and because of — his effort Tuesday: 2 2/3 scoreless innings in the blowout-turned-thriller loss to the Giants. That meant he wouldn’t be available for a few days.
“He did his part,” Showalter said. “If you don’t do that, you don’t get to have your heart broken in the ninth inning.”
The same thing happened with Nogosek after his only other major-league appearance this year. He shut out the Nationals for three innings on May 11 and was demoted May 12.
As the rotation turns
The Mets’ starting pitchers against the Phillies at Citi Field this weekend: Carlos Carrasco on Friday, Taijuan Walker on Saturday and Chris Bassitt or David Peterson on Sunday.
The last of those probably will be Bassitt, but the Mets want to make sure he is OK after dealing with a cold/sinus issue (which affected him in his poor start Tuesday).
“I know Bass wants to stay in turn,” Showalter said. “These guys want to stay in a routine a little bit.”
Game time
The Mets’ matchup with the Angels in Anaheim on June 12 was selected by ESPN for “Sunday Night Baseball,” pushing first pitch back three hours to 7:08 p.m. ET.
That will be the Mets’ third SNB appearance in seven weeks.
Also, the Mets’ Aug. 7 home date with Atlanta was changed to a 4:10 p.m. start time (from 1:40 p.m.). That happened so the teams could rest more after a doubleheader the day prior.
Extra bases
Jacob deGrom (right shoulder blade stress reaction) will not throw a bullpen session during the upcoming homestand and never was going to, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner clarified. He previously said it was possible . . . Third-base coach Joey Cora, away from the team because of a family matter, is expected back Saturday . . . The Mets acquired outfielder Daniel Johnson from the Guardians for cash and sent him to Syracuse. He averaged double-digit steals and homers in the minors in 2017-19 but has played and done less since. But he did appear in 35 major-league games in 2020-21.
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.
