Mets' Francisco Alvarez leaves Dodgers game with thumb injury: 'I'm pretty concerned'
Francisco Alvarez exited Friday’s game against the Dodgers in the second inning after he appeared to injure his left thumb while running the bases.
In the second inning, Alvarez hit a soft grounder up the first-base line when Dodgers catcher Will Smith overthrew Freddie Freeman. Alvarez turned the corner to head to second base, but stumbled and seemingly jammed his thumb trying to prevent himself from stumbling.
After the game, manager Carlos Mendoza did not sugarcoat what he felt about his young pitcher's potential injury.
"I'm pretty concerned, I'm not going to lie," he said. "Obviously, he's getting an MRI right now, but he's in pain. I'm worried about that."
The Mets catcher initially stayed in the game after being evaluated by trainers and scored on a single from Harrison Bader, but was replaced by Omar Narvaez in the bottom half of the inning. Mendoza explained that when Alvarez got back to the dugout he was in pain and couldn't squeeze the glove, which prompted the move.
The team will know more about Alvarez's thumb on Saturday and can get another catcher to Los Angeles if he will need to miss time.
The 23-year-old appeared to hurt the same thumb also sliding into second base on Wednesday. In that same game, he was also hit in the left hand on a swing in the third inning, prompting the trainers to check on him but he remained in the game.
Alvarez is hitting .236/.288/.364 with a home run and eight RBI this season.
