Trevor May lands on injured list in Mets surprise
Trevor May was desperate Monday night to get an answer on what was ailing his right arm.
At the very least, the Mets reliever will get 15 days on the shelf in an attempt to address that issue.
The Mets placed May on the injured list Tuesday with right triceps inflammation. The right-hander, who underwent an MRI earlier in the day, missed a few games earlier in the season with a triceps strain that did not require an IL stint.
“It’s unfortunate,” Buck Showalter said after the Mets’ doubleheader sweep of Atlanta, adding that GM Billy Eppler would provide more information on May’s situation Wednesday.
Adonis Medina was called up from Triple-A Syracuse to take May’s spot in the bullpen.
Showalter said he did not know May was fighting the triceps issue again until after Monday’s game, and that pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and bullpen coach Craig Bjornson were “surprised” by the revelation.
“Players have a lot of pride,” Showalter said. “They don’t want to come across like they’re making excuses or something. He’s not. We’ll get to the bottom of it and try to get it worked out. We need him.”
After May gave up two runs for the third time in four outings Monday against the Braves, he didn’t hide his frustration with his physical status.
“It’s hard to compete when you’re just worried about whether or not something’s going to hurt to throw,” May said Monday night.
In May’s absence, Drew Smith’s emergence out of the bullpen has become even more important.
The right-hander tossed two scoreless frames in Game 1, extending his shutout streak to 11 ¹/₃ innings to begin the year.
“It gives you a lot of confidence and confidence is key, especially as a reliever,” said Smith, whose four-pitch mix makes him a multi-inning threat. “It’s a good start, but it’s barely May.”
Max Scherzer was ejected in between the sixth and seventh innings of Game 2 for arguing balls and strikes from the dugout.
“I’m sure it won’t be the last [ejection] Max gets this year,” Showalter said with a grin. “I don’t want him doing it when he’s pitching and not being able to continue, but he felt like something wasn’t fair with Dom [Smith, who struck out looking in the sixth]. He said what I’m sure Dom wanted him to say.”
Starling Marte was thrown out trying to steal second base in the eighth inning of Game 1. It was the MLB-high fourth time he was caught stealing this season (on eight attempts), a year after getting caught five times on 52 attempts.
The Mets left three bats leaning on the wall outside their clubhouse Tuesday as a tribute to 10-year-old Lazar LaPenna, who died during a Little League game in Long Beach on Friday. Families around Long Island were leaving bats outside their homes this week, with the hashtag #BatsOutForLazar, to remember LaPenna.
“We send our love and support to his family and teammates in the Long Beach/Lido Little League,” the Mets wrote on social media.