Add Brandon Nimmo to the list of Mets injury concerns.
Nimmo left Tuesday’s 9-0 win over the Phillies at Citi Field before the top of the fourth inning with a left oblique “twinge.” He was replaced in center by Juan Lagares.
Nimmo reached on an error by second baseman Cesar Hernandez in the second and was checked on by manager Mickey Callaway and the training staff while at first base during Pete Alonso’s ensuing at-bat. Nimmo, however, remained in the game at that point.
He said he felt a “tweak” when he slowed down trying to steal a base and called time to make sure he was OK.
“I convinced them to let me stay out there,’’ Nimmo said. “I came back in and they said ‘We’d rather be cautious than end up missing four to six weeks or so.’ ”
Callaway called the injury “mild.” Nimmo said he was day to day. The Mets will evaluate the injury further on Wednesday after Nimmo responded well to strength tests.
The center fielder left last Tuesday’s game with a stiff neck and didn’t return to the lineup until Saturday in St. Louis.
“It’s been really frustrating,” Nimmo said. “The neck thing happened and I was kind of getting back into it again and this pops up.”
Amed Rosario was out of the starting lineup for a second straight game due to the aftereffects of the flu symptoms he dealt with the day before, but it wasn’t a total day off.
Rather, he spent part of his time before the game on the field with third-base coach Gary DiSarcina, who also works with the infielders and wanted to help get the shortstop out of his funk in the field, since Rosario has made five errors in his last five games.
“I just reminded him how good he is,’’ DiSarcina said. “He played 154 games up here last year. He’s a quality shortstop. It’s just like hitting. You hit the skids a little bit and you get down on yourself.’’
But DiSarcina’s message was more specific than that.
He’s also noticed Rosario has been late with his pre-pitch approach, and DiSarcina believes that has led to some of his recent miscues.
“When you’re on time, it allows him to get to the ball quicker,’’ DiSarcina said. “A couple of balls he’s fumbled, he’s been just late in getting to, and that starts before the pitch.”
DiSarcina added that Rosario dealt with the same issue at times last season.
Callaway was hopeful Rosario would be back at short on Wednesday, saying he “feels a ton better.”
“We’ll do some early work [on Wednesday] and I want him to get back out there,’’ DiSarcina said. “That’s the only way you put it behind you, by making a play. He’s a young kid. He’ll get out of it.”
Robinson Cano was back in the lineup after not starting Monday because of residual soreness in his wrist from being drilled on Sunday in St. Louis. He singled twice in four at-bats and scored a run.
“He’s full-go, he’s fine,’’ Callaway said of Cano, who made a brief appearance in Monday’s win, when he was announced as a pinch-hitter, but was removed for another pinch hitter when the Phillies changed pitchers.
Callaway said Justin Wilson won’t throw for three days after being shut down and placed on the 10-day injured list with a sore left elbow.
“We don’t have a time frame for when he’ll be back, but we have an initial amount of days off we want him to have,’’ Callaway said.