Anthony Swarzak hurts oblique, will be re-evaluated Sunday
A Mets trainer escorts Mets relief pitcher Anthony Swarzak to the dugout during the eighth inning against the Cardinalsat Citi Field on Saturday, March 31, 2018. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Mets lasted almost two whole games before losing a player to injury mid-game.
Righthanded reliever Anthony Swarzak exited with a sore left oblique in the eighth inning of the Mets’ win Saturday against the Cardinals. He is day-to-day and will be re-evaluated Sunday, though he was not sure if he would even get an MRI.
“Anytime somebody has to come out of a game, there’s concern,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “We’ll be cautious with him.”
Swarzak said he felt it on his last pitch to Tommy Pham (strikeout swinging) or first pitch to Matt Carpenter (ball). He threw 12 more pitches — to little effectiveness — before asking Callaway to come out. Carpenter homered, Marcell Ozuna flew out and Jose Martinez walked.
“I can’t do that to the team. It was time to call someone out there and get a pitcher in,” Swarzak said. “I’ve never felt anything like this in my side before. I have not really been an injury-prone kind of person. So between the calf thing in spring training and now this, I’m just trying to take it one day at a time and see how I feel tomorrow. I’m not a doctor so I really don’t know.”
Swarzak missed two and a half weeks of spring training with a left calf strain. He didn’t seem too worried about this physical setback.
“I’ll be optimistic,” Swarzak said. “I’m not panicking at this point.”
Remembering Rusty
The Mets announced Saturday that they will wear a patch honoring team great Rusty Staub, who died Thursday, all season. The circle patch features Staub’s signature and is on the right sleeve of the Mets’ uniforms.
Also Saturday, the Mets hung a Staub No. 10 jersey in their dugout.
Extra bases
Lefthander Jason Vargas successfully threw a bullpen session Saturday, but still has the stitches in his right hand after March 20 surgery and did not catch the return throws himself . . . Callaway is the first Mets manager to win both of his first two games since Joe Torre in 1977 . . . Jeurys Familia’s save Saturday was the 107th of his career, tied with Jesse Orosco for third-most on the Mets’ all-time list . . . A quirk of the early-season schedule: Six of the Mets’ first eight games are 1 p.m. starts.
