Manager Terry Collins said Wilmer Flores’ night off Saturday was scheduled, and had nothing to do with his recent struggles in the field. But Collins admitted he might give his struggling shortstop Sunday off as well, just to clear his head.
“After [Friday] night, you can tell this guy just needs to take a deep breath and forget about it for a day,’’ Collins said before the Mets’ 1-0 loss to the Nationals Saturday night at Citi Field. “With Monday off we’ve talked about whether we even give him [Sunday] off, say “Hey, look, get some energy back, forget about what’s happened and move forward.’”
Flores had made errors in each of his three previous games, and has a team-high seven on the year — two more than all last season.
Ruben Tejada got the nod Saturday and went 1-for-3, but, more importantly, was solid defensively. He went deep into the outfield grass for a backhand play and made a strong throw to rob speedy leadoff-hitter Michael Taylor to strand runners on the corners in the sixth inning.
Collins said Flores’ struggles can be a recurring problem.
“When you’re talking about Wilmer Flores starting to struggle, that becomes a huge issue for the manager,’’ said Collins.
“Not only when to give him a day off, but even during those days off to make sure he’s still a relevant piece of the puzzle, that he’s not just ‘go sit on the other end of the bench, I don’t want to see you today.’ Because you’ve got to be very careful; the mental psyche of a young player can affect him for a long time.’’
The Mets made a pair of base-running gaffes.
In the first inning Lucas Duda hit an opposite-field double, but Juan Lagares was waved home by third-base coach Tim Teufel and got thrown out at the plate, Ian Desmond making a good relay throw from left fielder Jayson Werth. Collins defended the decision.
“Yeah, once in awhile you’ve got to make them make a play,’’ Collins said. “The ball’s sitting in the corner down there and you’ve got certainly a guy who can run. Ian made a great throw.’’
The in the sixth, Dilson Herrera — who was 0-for-5 with four strikeouts since being called up — singled but got thrown out trying to take second.
“That was an error of enthusiasm,’’ Collins said. “He’ll learn.’’
After a tough last outing, reliever Carlos Torres rebounded with two perfect innings, striking out two.
“To bounce back after the other night was very good,’’ Collins said. “These guys swing the bat pretty good against him and tonight he made a lot of good pitches and got some easy outs.’’