WASHINGTON — New York Mets center fielder Harrison Bader left their game Tuesday night at the Washington Nationals, an inning after he crashed into the wall and went down awkwardly trying to make a catch.
The Mets said Bader was pulled for precautionary reasons.
Bader went back on a ball hit by Jacob Young in the bottom of the third and collided left arm first with the video screen in right-center field. He was slow to get to his feet but stayed in the game until Washington’s half of the fourth, when he was taken out.
Brandon Nimmo entered the game in left field with Tyrone Taylor shifting to center and Jeff McNeil moving to right. It was Nimmo’s first game action since cutting his forehead when he fainted and fell in his hotel room on Sunday night.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said before the game Nimmo was an option to come off the bench.
Designated hitter J.D. Martinez was a late scratch from the Mets’ lineup because of a sore left ankle. Luis Torrens replaced him.
Bader, 30, is hitting .273 with six home runs and 31 RBI in his first season with the Mets after signing a one-year, $10.5 million contract in January. He split last season between the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds and previously played several seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals.