Mets' Francisco Alvarez has a sore elbow, but Luis Torrens fills in just fine
The Mets' Luis Torrens doubles off Pirates relief pitcher Dennis Santana, driving in three runs, during the third inning in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Credit: AP/Gene J. Puskar
PITTSBURGH — Here’s how you know the Mets’ catching situation is smooth these days: Francisco Alvarez was physically unable to start Saturday and they didn’t miss him at all.
Backup catcher Luis Torrens served as the offensive sparkplug in the Mets’ 5-2 win over the Pirates, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored.
His three-run double with two outs in the top of the third saved the Mets from blowing what would have been a third primo scoring opportunity in as many innings. He added a single during a two-run rally in the sixth.
“Obviously, whenever those situations come about, I’m always looking to get a hit,” Torrens said through an interpreter, referring to his biggest hit. “But in a game like today, where we had a couple runners on and we stranded them, I really had to lock in in that at-bat. I was able to get the job done there.”
And so continued Torrens’ charmed stay with the Mets. Since the Mets purchased his minor-league deal from the Yankees on May 31, Torrens has been a more than reliable second-stringer, contributing at the plate and holding it down behind the plate.
Even since Alvarez’s return from a thumb injury — which led to Torrens’ playing time diminishing significantly — he has been productive when in the lineup.
Consider: Alvarez is batting .292 with an .850 OPS, which is great stuff, especially from a catcher.
Torrens is batting .317 with a .974 OPS, albeit in a limited sample size.
“[Torrens has been helpful] not only offensively, getting timely hits,” manager Carlos Mendoza said, “but the way he’s handling the pitching staff, making those guys feel really good about himself, making adjustments when needed, communicating with the pitching coaches and game-planning.”
Alvarez said he was sore but mostly fine after his left elbow absorbed a 99-mph fastball from Paul Skenes on Friday. That was a major improvement over the immediate aftermath of the plunking, when his entire forearm was numb, he said. He plans to wear an elbow pad moving forward but didn’t previously because he found it uncomfortable.
X-rays on Friday were negative, according to Mendoza. Alvarez wound up catching the bottom of the ninth Saturday (inserted because the manager wanted him to work with Edwin Diaz in his first game back from a 10-game foreign-substance suspension).
“He’s pretty sore,” Mendoza said. “It got him pretty good, right on the bone there. I think we got lucky.”
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.
