Young scratched after freak batting cage injury

DENVER -- Eric Young Jr. was scheduled to make his first start of the series but was scratched from the lineup after suffering a freak injury in the indoor batting cage.

Lucas Duda was hitting during a soft-toss drill and lined a ball off the protective screen that ricocheted and struck Young below the right eye. A CT scan on his right cheekbone was negative. He is listed day-to-day with a right cheekbone contusion.

Young, who said he passed a concussion test, had slight swelling under his right eye. Manager Terry Collins said he was going to play Young had he not been dizzy upon returning to Coors Field.

"Anybody that gets hit with a baseball in the head is going to experience some discomfort," Young said after the Mets beat the Rockies, 5-1. "X-Rays and CT scan came back good. Fortunately, it's just a little headache right now."

Asked whether he thought he would be able to play Monday, Young said, "I don't know what my symptoms will be tomorrow. As of right now, I'm good to go. If need be, they probably could have gotten me in the game later today."

Young was scheduled to start in left field and Chris Young was going to play center field. Instead, Juan Lagares started in center and Young started in left.

Collins had planned to give Lagares the day off. He played three straight games since coming off the disabled list Thursday, and Sunday was a day game after a long night game. Collins was mindful that Lagares had been on the disabled list with a hamstring injury and had done a lot of running at Coors Field where center field is vast.

Lagares ended up going 3-for-5 with a double and scored two runs.