Mets Notebook: X-rays negative for Francisco Alvarez
MINNEAPOLIS — Francisco Alvarez avoided the worst Sunday afternoon. Minnesota Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez hit the rookie catcher in between his hand and his wrist on the left side in the Mets’ 2-0 win at Target Field.
X-rays were negative for Alvarez and he doesn’t expect to have any further imaging. There is some inflammation and swelling and Alvarez was wearing a sleeve to aid in that following the game. However, he should be good to go as the Mets head back to New York to open a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.
“Just go to the training room to try to get that inflammation down,” Alvarez said through translator Alan Suriel.
Lopez drilled Alvarez with a 96 MPH fastball in the top of the fifth. The 21-year-old backstop was in visible pain right away. The manager and trainers went out to check on him but he remained in the game until the bottom of the seventh. The Mets tested the hand and the wrist in the batting cage to make sure he was capable of playing without pain. At some point, it started to get stiff.
Buck Showalter noticed that Alvarez seemed to be in discomfort once again as he caught warmup throws from right-hander Trevor Gott. The manager called him back to the dugout and instructed Omar Narvaez to take over behind the plate.
“He came out to catch and I watched him throw the ball back to the pitcher,” Showalter said. “I was waiting for him to throw down between innings it wasn’t good. No sense taking any chances there.”
Smith’s ‘roller coaster’ season
Last season, Drew Smith‘s career seemed to be on the rise. He had emerged as a high-leverage reliever and was holding leads for Edwin Diaz, the game’s best closer.
Smith seemed to hit a wall in May and then again in July. Part of that could explained by a lat strain. But the Mets don’t seem to have an explanation as to why he has struggled so much this season.
Smith had another ugly outing this weekend against the Minnesota Twins. Every time he gets on a roll, it fails to last. Elevated pitch counts and costly home runs have marred Smith’s season. The Mets haven’t been able to identify anything other than a lack of command and an inability to finish off hitters on two-strike counts.
“It’s been tough. It’s one step forward, one step back,” Showalter said. “He got behind in a lot of counts and he’s having a lot of 20-plus pitch innings. We’ve seen Drew better than that. It’s frustrating and I know it is for him too.”
He’s 4-5 with a 4.56 ERA. Smith does have three saves this season, but it’s tough to justify using him in save situations this season. Smith has had streaks where he hasn’t given up any earned runs for several innings at a time, but then streaks where he’s giving up runs in consecutive outings. This season has been tough for him to handle and he described it as a ‘roller coaster’ after giving up four runs and taking his fifth loss of the season Saturday night.
Smith, who will be 30 next week, is hoping to end the season with another scoreless streak.
“It’s been a tough year from a performance standpoint,” Smith told the Daily News. “It’s been up and down and I haven’t been as consistent as I have in the past and as I would like to be. But I’m still trying to finish on a good note.”
Mets remember 9/11
To commemorate the September 11 attacks, the Mets are holding a pregame ceremony Monday before the start of a series against the Diamondbacks. First responders will be honored and the Mets will wear caps bearing the logos of the various NYPD, NYFD, Port Authority Police Department, Department of Sanitation and Department of Corrections during the game. Mike Piazza, who hit the game-winning home run in the first game after the attacks will also be on hand.
