The celebration was fun while it lasted, but then came another dose of reality for the Mets.
In the aftermath of the Mets’ 5-4 victory Wednesday over the Giants on Josh Satin’s two-run single in the ninth, manager Terry Collins revealed shortstop Ruben Tejada sustained a broken fibula in his right leg on a ninth-inning collision with teammate Andrew Brown and will miss the remainder of the season.
Tejada, racing toward the outfield to catch an Angel Pagan pop up, clipped the sliding Brown and went crashing to the ground, but remained on the field to finish the inning. Tejada, according to Collins, will need 6-8 weeks to heal.
“You feel bad for Ruben because he had something to really prove here in the last couple of weeks,” Collins said. “Now he’s not going to get that chance.”
The 23-year-old Tejada returned from Triple-A Las Vegas last week, after spending most of the season in the minors, after initially straining his right quadriceps and then having to prove he was worthy of playing in the majors.
In 208 at-bats, Tejada batted .202 with no homers and 10 RBIs.
“Here’s a kid who came back in, tonight the base hit he got to right field, that’s Ruben Tejada, as we’ve known him, as we’ve seen him,” Collins said. “He’s going to have to work hard this winter to get himself back into good shape.”
Tejada’s broken leg overshadowed a four-run rally in the ninth by the Mets against Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo.
Zach Lutz delivered an RBI double in the inning before Juan Centeno’s run-scoring single brought the Mets within 4-3. With the bases loaded and two outs, Satin won it with a single to left.
Aaron Harang, in his second start for the Mets, lasted five innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on six hits with eight strikeouts and one walk.
Travis d’Arnaud was absent from the starting lineup, a night after taking a foul tip off the right shoulder. But Collins doesn’t expect d’Arnaud to miss extensive action.
The rookie catcher’s penchant for setting up close to the plate leaves him susceptible to getting hit by backswings and foul tips, but Collins said there is no reason for him to change. The manager cited d’Arnaud’s exceptional ability at “stealing strikes” for his pitchers.
“The fact that he is close to home plate and the umpire is getting a good look has helped our pitching staff getting some strikes,” Collins said. “On the dark side, he’s getting hit with some backswings.”
David Wright is battling soreness in his lower back, but Collins expects the third baseman to be activated from the disabled list this weekend in Philadelphia. Wright has been sidelined since Aug. 3 with a strained right hamstring.
Despite his lost season, Jeurys Familia remains on the Mets’ radar as a potentially significant bullpen component for 2014.
The rookie reliever had a rough comeback outing on Tuesday, when he surrendered two hits and two walks in one-third of an inning against the Giants. It was Familia’s first appearance for the Mets since undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs and loose bodies from his right elbow on June 5. He was placed on the disabled list a month earlier.
Familia is expected to pitch in the Caribbean this winter, and Collins said pitching coach Dan Warthen likely will make visits to monitor the right-hander’s progress.
“One of the things we certainly will be watching for this winter each and every time he goes out is to make sure he throws strikes down there,” Collins said. “Because his stuff is plenty good enough.”