PAINFUL LOSS: Mets starter Jon Niese is examined by team doctor Ray Ramirez after being struck in the right leg by a ball in the third inning of last night’s loss to the Dodgers at Citi Field. He would have to leave the game. (Bill Kostroun)
That’s one tough Mark to erase.
Between the bruise Mark Ellis planted on Jon Niese’s right leg and the damage the Dodgers second baseman inflicted upon Robert Carson and Brandon Lyon, the Mets couldn’t escape Citi Field fast enough last night.
Ellis knocked out Niese with a comebacker and then pummeled an entire team with two home runs and four RBIs in the Mets’ 7-2 loss to the Dodgers before an announced crowd of 21,135.
Niese staggered from the mound in the third inning and was removed from the game after Ellis’ one-hopper drilled the left-hander between the right ankle and Achilles, leaving him with a contusion — X-rays were negative.
“It’s a lot better than I thought it was going to be,” Niese said. “Initially, it hurt pretty bad, but after icing it a few times it feels good. I think it was more of a stinger than anything.”
The left-hander expects to throw a side session tomorrow, but indicated he would be surprised if he doesn’t take his next turn in the rotation.
“When it happened, your first worry is something serious is there and how are you going to fill [his spot],” manager Terry Collins said.
Ellis, who hadn’t homered this season, tormented the Mets’ bullpen.
That meant a three-run blast off Lyon in the seventh to snap a 2-2 tie, after Carson had surrendered a solo homer to Ellis in the fifth.
The Mets (9-9) like their chances of resting the bullpen tonight, when phenom Matt Harvey takes the mound seeking a fifth straight victory to begin the season.
Niese’s final line included 2 1/3 innings with one run allowed on three hits and three walks. He was coming off consecutive mediocre performances in a victory over the Twins and loss to the Rockies.
“Obviously it wasn’t my best stuff,” Niese said. “The second inning I was trying to be way too perfect instead of being aggressive and pounding the zone.”
Clayton Kershaw was sloppy for the Dodgers, lasting only five innings in which he allowed two earned runs on three hits and four walks, but the Mets couldn’t deliver the knockout punch. Daniel Murphy and David Wright each stroked an RBI single in the third, but the Mets left the bases loaded.
With it 2-2 in the seventh, Justin Sellers singled for the Dodgers and Juan Uribe walked against Lyon before Ellis cleared the fence in left field.
Josh Edgin further buried the Mets in the eighth, allowing two runs over one-third of an inning. The erratic lefty saw his ERA surge to 10.80 and seems in jeopardy of losing his roster spot after a fourth straight rough outing.
“One of the things I am a little concerned about, a young pitcher like that, last year he got in a lot of games,” Collins said of Edgin. “He had a lot of appearances and games he warmed up. All of those can lead to the next year not having your arm respond.”
Ellis stuck it to the Mets in the fifth, with a solo homer against Carson that made it 2-2. The blast was the 100th career home run for Ellis, whom the Mets had interest before the 2012 season.
Juan Lagares marked his major league debut with a single in the seventh inning and became the fifth center fielder the Mets have used this season.
The 24-year-old Lagares was batting .346 with three homers and nine RBIs in 17 games for Triple-A Las Vegas. Kirk Nieuwenhuis was optioned to Triple-A yesterday to create roster space for the new arrival.
“[Lagares] is the future — a great defender,” Collins said. “He’s got some power. There are people in this organization who think he’s a better center fielder than Matt den Dekker, which [says] a lot.”