On Opening Day, the New York Mets’ Pete Alonso and James McCann were hit by pitches from the Washington Nationals’ pitching staff. Alonso had the pitch ricochet off his face, and he went into concussion protocol, but passed. Mets manager Buck Showalter was not happy about the hit-by-pitches (via SNY and Yahoo):
“I won’t make light of it – I’m not happy about it,” Buck Showalter said after the game. “Just like McCann, got the slider that bounced off [McCann’s] foot, but don’t like to see that.”
“It’s an emotional game played by people that care,” he added when asked if the dugout was angry. “You ever gotten hit by a pitch in the mouth? Not particularly pleasant, so certainly, there’s some emotion there.”
Fast-forward to Game 2 on Friday night.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Mets’ Francisco Lindor was hit in the face by a pitch from Washington’s Steve Cishek. Now, Lindor was squaring to bunt which puts him in a more vulnerable position, but it was still a very dangerous up-and-in pitch.
Benches immediately cleared, with a livid Showalter leading the way and yelling things that likely weren’t very friendly.
Tensions flare and the benches clear in Washington as Francisco Lindor takes a pitch to the head pic.twitter.com/6QSJROpmHM
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 9, 2022
Francisco Lindor was just hit hard by a pitch up and in. He went down and stayed down for a while, even as the benches and bullpens emptied around him. Lindor eventually got up and moved toward the skirmish…he appears all right, but the Mets and Nationals are still scuffling.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 9, 2022
This is the fourth Mets batter that has been hit in 14 innings, three on fastballs. The Mets were upset last night after Pete Alonso was hit near the face. Now Lindor takes one in a similar area on a bunt attempt.
Lindor is back on the ground, getting attention from trainers.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 9, 2022
Lindor left the game, and Cishek was ejected.
Umpires just ejected Steve Cishek, the pitcher who hit Lindor with a fastball. Cishek is displeased, briefly pleading his case before departing.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 9, 2022
Scary stuff, and we may not have seen the end of this storyline with how furious Showalter is. Nats hitters won’t dig into the box very comfortably for the rest of the weekend (and neither will Mets hitters after getting hit four times already in the series).
UPDATE: Lindor had x-rays on his jaw that were negative. Additionally, he passed concussion testing. So, that’s good news.
X-rays on Francisco Lindor's jaw were negative and he passed concussion testing after being hit on the C-flap with an 88-mph pitch earlier tonight.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 9, 2022
