Jay Bruce could return to Mets on Friday
Jay Bruce will play rightfield and first base during his rehab assignment for St. Lucie. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Jay Bruce, who has been on the DL since June 18, could finally be back in the Mets lineup Friday, according to manager Mickey Callaway. Bruce, who has been out with back and hip issues, and plantar fasciitis, has been rehabbing with the Mets’ St. Lucie farm team and appears ready to return. On Tuesday, he played nine innings in rightfield and went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored and Callaway said everything was great when he spoke to Bruce Wednesday morning.
“He feels like his timing is getting there,’’ Callaway said of Bruce. “His feet feel great, his back feels great, so he’s in a really good spot, physically. He is going to play first base tonight and if that goes well, he’ll fly in and meet us [Thursday] and be activated on Friday.’’
All went well Wednesday. Bruce played all nine innings and went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.
Bruce, who returned to the Mets this offseason, signing a three-year, $39 million free agent deal, is hitting .212, with an on-base percentage of .292 and a slugging percentage of .321, with three home runs and 17 RBIs in 62 games for the Mets this season.
USA Softball coach, Stony Brook native Eriksen attends
Ken Eriksen, the Stony Brook native and Ward-Melville HS graduate who just led the USA Softball team to the gold medal in the recently concluded World Championships earlier this month in Japan, was at the game. Winning the World Championships automatically qualifies the USA for the 2020 Summer Olympics, where baseball and softball will be returning to the competition. “It’s pretty exciting,’’ Eriksen said of winning the World Championships. “It’s the first time baseball and softball are back in the Olympics, in 2020, since 2008, when it was taken out. So, for us to qualify as early as we did kind of takes the pressure off the next two years. People don’t realize you have to qualify for these things, it’s not a given that the United States baseball team and softball team are in the Olympics. You’ve got to go through complete qualifications.’’
LI lefty Zamora starts ninth inning
Stony Brook product Daniel Zamora, the lefty reliever, started the ninth inning and retired the only batter he faced, getting lefty Brandon Crawford on a flyout to left . . . David Wright also played for St. Lucie on Wednesday. He played seven innings at third base and went 0-for-3. He’s batting .125 (3-for-24) in eight rehab games . . . The 2019 schedule was released. The Mets open the season at Washington March 28 and play the first two series on the road before their home opener April 4 vs. the Nationals.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
