KANSAS CITY, Mo. — J.D. Davis said his right calf wasn’t bothering him, but his motions on the bases after delivering a pinch-hit, game-tying single for the Mets in the seventh inning Sunday triggered an alarm.
“We were thinking of leaving him in left field and letting him play out there. He says he feels great,” manager Mickey Callaway said after the Mets beat the Royals 11-5. “Then I watched him run first-to-third and said it’s not worth the risk.”
Davis left Friday’s game for a pinch runner because of discomfort with the calf. He was utilized for pinch-hitting duty the last two games.
“They just told me if I got on base to take it easy, not to really provoke it,” Davis said. “But I didn’t feel it and that was a good sign for me. It’s a good sign going forward.”
Davis indicated he would expect to play left field Tuesday.
“I was contemplating playing [Sunday],” he said. “But they just tried to give me an extra day just to be ready for it.”
Michael Conforto’s 452-foot homer was the second-longest of his career, according to Statcast. Conforto’s longest came against Jon Lester at Wrigley Field last Aug. 27, when he launched a 472-foot blast.
Though Jeff McNeil is on the injured list and Davis was limited to pinch hitting in the last two games, Conforto indicated he hasn’t put extra pressure on himself to carry the lineup.
“Our lineup, even without those guys, we still have Rosie [Amed Rosario] who is very hot right now,” Conforto said. “Wilson [Ramos] is hot, [Juan] Lagares is hot. Guys are picking up the slack left and right. We can’t wait to have those guys back, but I am not going to put any more pressure on myself. We have a very good lineup.”
Edwin Diaz pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts, albeit with a six-run lead. But Callaway said it was a step in the right direction for the struggling reliever.
“That’s the best I have ever seen his slider since he’s been here,” Callaway said. “It was 91 [mph] and I think he threw one 92 and it had depth, so he is staying behind it and getting on top of it like he and [pitching coach] Phil Regan have been talking about.”
The Mets are 24-10 since the All-Star break, still the best record in the National League over that stretch. In addition, the Mets have won nine of 11 series in the second half, with the only losses coming at San Francisco and Atlanta.