NEW YORK -- An anxious moment affected the Mets in the eighth inning of Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Marlins, when Yoenis Cespedes launched nearly horizontally into the left-field stands at Citi Field in pursuit of a foul ball.
"I tried to jump to get the ball just to give max effort for the team," Cespedes said through an interpreter, "see if we can get the win."
Cespedes disappeared into the crowd and did not emerge for several moments, as trainers rushed out to check on him. But he remained in the game, and neither he nor any fans were seriously injured. Cespedes did suffer some bruising on both knees and one elbow, but said he fully expects to play in Friday's series opener at Cleveland. He chose to dive into the stands instead of reaching over with his glove out of fear that the short fence down the line would expose his legs to injury.
"It's an athletic play," third baseman David Wright said. "He banged into a chair so I think all is well, but you could just tell from the intensity of the game that this was one we wanted to win."

What could have been a disturbing moment for the Mets instead turned into a memorable one for Nik Gattine, 25, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., who was sitting in the section and received the brunt of Cespedes' dive.
"I just saw the foul ball coming right toward me, put my hands up, caught it, realized somebody had tackled me in the stomach," Gattine said. "I looked down and saw someone in a Mets jersey. Cespedes!"