Nimmo, Davis day to day after early exits

May 2nd, 2021

Within the span of several minutes on Saturday, the Mets lost one-quarter of their starting lineup to injuries. suffered a bruised left index finger, and departed moments later due to a left hand sprain. Both players are day to day.

“We’ll see how they show up tomorrow,” manager Luis Rojas said late Saturday night after the Mets’ 5-4 victory over the Phillies.

Nimmo was the first to depart, bending over in pain after fouling off a 97 mph Zack Wheeler fastball in the seventh. Following a brief check from the trainer, Nimmo departed, giving way to pinch-hitter Kevin Pillar. (Pillar struck out on the next pitch, which was credited as a strikeout to Nimmo in the box score because the at-bat had already begun.)

An X-ray taken in the clubhouse revealed nothing broken, leading to the diagnosis of a contusion.

“He was getting a little swollen there,” Rojas said. “It was the vibration of the contact impacting. It was definitely hurting him when he was taking swings, when he was making contact.”

Moments later, Davis did not come back to the field for defense in the bottom of the seventh. Davis had also injured his hand on a foul ball off Wheeler in the sixth, though he attempted to stay in the game for another inning before departing. The Mets did not deem X-rays necessary for Davis.

“He looked funny when he took the swing and how he was reacting,” Rojas said.

Should Nimmo or Davis miss time, the Mets are covered in center field by Pillar and Albert Almora Jr., and at third base by Jonathan Villar. (Another backup third baseman, Luis Guillorme, is on the injured list with a strained right oblique muscle.)

Still, the Mets would prefer not to be without Nimmo and Davis for long. They were two of the Mets’ best hitters in April, ranking first (Davis) and second (Nimmo) on the club in both batting average and on-base percentage.