Eric Young Jr. was forced out of yesterday’s game with pain in his right knee, an alarming and unfortunate development for the Mets’ leadoff hitter.
Young went 1-for-2 with an infield single in the Mets’ 7-4 win over the Braves before leaving after the third inning. The speedy left fielder hurt his knee Wednesday night, when he accidentally spiked Braves starter Tim Hudson on a play at first, resulting in a season-ending fracture of the pitcher’s right ankle.
Young, who has delivered an impressive .356 on-base percentage along with 12 steals in 31 games with the Mets, got an X-ray but not an MRI exam.
“Just sore,” he said. “Playing it safe today.”
Terry Collins called it “a knee strain,” however, which is more than just soreness. Either way, it bears watching. Young, who was replaced by Andrew Brown, thinks it may be possible to play today in Washington.
Regarding the Hudson injury, Young tweeted yesterday: “For [people] who think I would purposely try [to] hurt someone & felt they needed to say that [to] me … I will continue [to] pray for [you] as well.” Asked if he received threats on Twitter, Young said: “Not necessarily threats, just a couple people making malicious comments.”
Young said he visited with Hudson and the pitcher’s wife.
“I was able to see both of them [Wednesday] night, back here with doctors. It was very comforting,” Young said. “Especially both of them saying play the game the way I do, play hard. It means a lot.”
* One night after accidentally slamming his bat into his head and neck on his backswing, David Wright went 2-for-5 and had no issues.
“I was fine,” he said. “Woke up and felt fine.”
* Day 2 of rehab games continued for Travis d’Arnaud and Lucas Duda in the Gulf Coast League yesterday. D’Arnaud (broken foot) went 1 for 3 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored while catching seven innings. Duda (strained intercostal) went 0 for 3 with a walk while playing seven innings in left field. … Comedian Howie Mandel, a friend of Josh Satin’s dad, was in the victorious postgame clubhouse visiting with the first baseman.
Additional reporting by Zach Braziller