J.D. Martinez, the designated hitter for the New York Mets, struck Wilson Contreras by mistake with his bat, fracturing his arm and placing the St. Louis Cardinals catcher on the injured list.
With a fractured left arm, the Cardinals declared on Wednesday that Contreras will be placed on the 10-day injured list. Pedro Pages, a catcher from Triple-A Memphis, was also called up.
The injury happened during Tuesday’s 7-5 Mets victory against the Cardinals in St. Louis in the top of the second inning. Following the game, Contreras informed reporters that he anticipated having arm surgery and that his recuperation would probably take six to eight weeks.
Contreras stated, “Once I tried to do some motion stuff, there was some cracking in [the arm] and I knew it was bad,” MLB.com reports.
Martinez was brought to the bat when Cardinals left fielder Brendan Donovan was struck out by left fielder D.J. Stewart to start the second inning.
Miles Mikolas, the starter for the Cardinals, began the exchange with two consecutive balls. Martinez threw off the subsequent pitch. Mikolas then launched a slider at 85.2 mph.
Martinez swung, and Contreras extended his gloved left hand to grab the pitch. Contreras’s forearm came into contact with the bat.
The catcher for the Cardinals, who was called for catcher’s interference, fell to the ground, screaming in agony. A trainer then took care of him.
Ivan Herrera took his position for the balance of the match.
Contreras scored a run while going 1 for 1. This season, he has 12 RBIs, six home runs, and a.280 batting average.
Mikolas fell to 2-5 on the season after giving up nine hits and six runs in four innings. As a substitute for Contreras, Herrera went 2 for 4. In five innings, Mets starter Jose Butto gave up five hits and three runs while picking up his first victory of the year.
The Mets’ first baseman Pete Alonso and outfielder Brandon Nimmo each hit home runs.
In the series finale, the Cardinals (15-21) will play the Mets (18-18) on Wednesday in St. Louis at 1:15 p.m. EDT.