New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was hit by a pitch on his left hand last night against the Philadelphia Phillies. Cespedes left the game, but the Mets received good news regarding his status.
The X-rays on Cespedes' hand came back negative and he suffered only bruises to his middle and ring fingers. The initial fear was that the 29-year-old may have gone down with a fracture because he appeared to be in a lot of pain, but it turns out he'll be available for the team's weekend series against the Washington Nationals, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
He told manager Terry Collins he'd be able to play in the team's series finale against the Phillies tonight, but Collins will opt to rest the slugger.
"When I first got hit, I felt a lot of pain," Cespedes said, via Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. "I didn't think it was that bad right away, but I was relieved when the X-rays came back negative."
New York is still fighting for home-field advantage in the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets lead the NL West champs by a game and will need to stay consistent over their final four games to ensure the first two games of that postseason series are at Citi Field. The Dodgers have one more game against the San Francisco Giants before they head back home to close out the year with a three-game set against the San Diego Padres.
The Mets avoided a disaster with Cespedes' diagnosis. Since coming over in a trade from the Detroit Tigers, the outfielder is batting .287/.336/.610 with 39 runs scored, 17 home runs and 44 RBIs in 54 games with New York and was an instrumental figure in helping the team clinch their first NL East title and postseason appearance since 2006.
In addition to Cespedes' injury, infielder Wilmer Flores also left last night's game with back spasms. Flores downplayed the issue and should also return to the lineup this weekend against the Nationals.
