Mets Bid Travis d’Arnaud Adieu, Then Beat Brewers

With the visiting Brewers on the verge of a sweep and his team having fallen to a .500 record after one month, Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen announced Sunday that the reserve catcher Travis d’Arnaud had been designated for assignment.

It was not unexpected. D’Arnaud, who played in seven seasons with the Mets after being acquired in the 2012 trade that sent Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey to Toronto, had struggled since returning to the majors less than a year since undergoing Tommy John surgery. In the previous night’s loss, fans booed d’Arnaud before his first at-bat, after he struck out and one last time when he was thrown out at second after trying to stretch a single into a double. He was 2 for 23, and Tomas Nido, his replacement, offered a better defensive option.

“It’s not a knee-jerk to any particular play or any particular game,” Van Wagenen said as he sat in the home dugout at Citi Field, “but we have to evaluate in real time the different scenarios that take place.”

Nido did not waste any time proving he was worthy of his promotion. After starting pitcher Steven Matz limited the Brewers to two runs in seven innings and J. D. Davis drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh, Nido hit a pinch-hit double to right that drove in two more runs in the eighth. Closer Edwin Diaz then entered the game to collect three outs for his eighth save as the win-now Mets won, 5-2.

“The guys picked me up,” said Matz, who won his second straight game after failing to record an out against the Phillies. “It was a good win through and through.”

The victory did not come without worry, though. In the first inning, second baseman Robinson Cano was hit by the first pitch he saw from Milwaukee starter Gio Gonzalez. It was called a strike as Cano failed to check his swing. Cano left the game, and Juan Lagares finished his at-bat by eventually drawing a walk. Initial X-rays on Cano’s left hand came back negative, but because of swelling, Manager Mickey Callaway noted that a magnetic resonance imaging test would be conducted Monday.

“We’re still a little concerned,” Callaway said.

The injury news was more troubling for the Brewers when Christian Yelich, the National League’s reigning winner of the Most Valuable Player Award, left the game in the top of the fifth inning with discomfort in his lower back. The right fielder had hit his 14th home run of the season, the most in the majors, Saturday night.

For the Mets, there were plenty of reasons to cheer. Just before Cano’s at-bat, first baseman Pete Alonso stroked a ball deep to left field. Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun retreated to the warning track before the ball hit off the wall. A fan reached down for it, but did not make contact with it as Braun reached up. The fan’s beer did spill down on Braun’s head, though. When asked what he thought of the sequence, Alonso said the Mets should offer the fan a voucher for a free beer.

“Hey Braun, this Bud’s for you,” said Alonso, who collected his first career triple on the play.

Good news is always welcome on offense, but the Mets came into the game in need of a strong start from a pitcher, and Matz gave them one. Through 98 pitches, he did not surrender a run, but with two outs in the seventh and a runner on, Brewers third baseman Mike Moustakas hit a two-run homer to tie the game at 2-2.

“He was damn near perfect,” Alonso said.

Pitching has been the Mets’ biggest problem thus far. On Friday night, Jacob deGrom, the reigning Cy Young Award winner in the National League, surrendered five runs in four innings and called his performance “embarrassing.” On Saturday, Noah Syndergaard gave up two home runs as his earned run average grew to 6.35.

“When it rains, it pours,” Syndergaard said. “But I’m not pressing the panic button quite just yet. Something’s not clicking.”

It all clicked for Matz and the rest of the Mets on Sunday, though. Looking to avoid the sweep, they turned to Nido, their newest addition, for the pinch hit that put the game away.

“Just a great approach,” Callaway said. “Great impact right away.”

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