The injuries are piling up on the Mets, and so are the losses.
R.A. Dickey left with a foot injury in the third inning and the Chicago Cubs took advantage, beating the Mets 9-3 Thursday.
Dickey was running to cover first base when he felt something in his foot and collapsed to the ground. He eventually limped off the field and down the dugout steps, and was replaced on the mound by reliever Pedro Beato. The team said Dickey had “pain in his right heel.”
“I felt a real intense burning sensation in my heel and involuntarily went down,” Dickey said. “I walked around and it subsided. I’m optimistic and I feel like I’m a pretty quick healer.”
Preliminary examinations showed no damage to the Achilles’ tendon, a good sign for the right-hander. Mets manager Terry Collins said Dickey will get a full evaluation Friday when the team returns to New York.
The Mets already have starters Johan Santana and Chris Young on the disabled list. First baseman Ike Davis has been banged up, third baseman David Wright has a stress fracture in his back, and outfielder Angel Pagan has been out for a while.
“You’ve got to stay as healthy as you can,” Collins said. “It’s hard to keep asking guys from Triple-A or your extra players to fill in for these guys.”
The Mets bullpen allowed eight hits and seven runs after Dickey departed. Beato (1-1) took the loss, allowing four runs in 1 1/3 innings.
In the third, Carlos Zambrano reached on a two-out single, and Kosuke Fukudome chopped a grounder to second. First baseman Daniel Murphy had come off the bag in pursuit the ball, so Dickey ran over to cover first. He stumbled and fell, and remained on the ground for several minutes.
“I knew I couldn’t go any more,” Dickey said. “It’s frustrating because I felt like I wasn’t going to give up much today.”
The Cubs got to Beato in the fourth. Starlin Castro led off with a walk, and Pena lined a 2-1 pitch into the right-field bleachers through a stiff wind. Koyie Hill added an RBI groundout, and Zambrano lined a run-scoring single, giving Chicago a four-run inning.
The Cubs tacked on another couple of runs in the fifth on Soriano’s two-run double.
Zambrano (5-2) allowed two runs on six hits and two walks, picking up his first win at Wrigley Field since Sept. 4.
Carlos Pena stayed hot for Chicago, lacing a two-run homer in the fourth. It was Pena’s sixth of the year, all of them since May 3. Pena has reached base in 19 of his past 20 games.
Alfonso Soriano had a two-run double, a single and scored a run for the Cubs. Rookie Tony Campana added three singles and made a couple of nice catches in center in his first start.
Fukudome also had three hits, including his first homer of the season, a solo shot in the eighth that gave the Cubs their last run. Chicago matched its season high with 17 hits.
The game didn’t start so well for the Cubs. After the first two innings passed quickly, the Mets broke out on top on a mash and some miscues.
Jose Reyes lined a double into the left-field corner. As he rounded the bag at second, the throw from Fukudome skipped by second baseman Barney. Reyes raced for third as Barney retrieved the errant throw, but Barney’s throw to third was wild, allowing Reyes to score.
Barney also was charged with an error in the first trying to flip a ball to shortstop Castro at the second base bag, giving Chicago three errors in the first two innings. The Cubs entered the game 15th in National League fielding percentage.
The Mets’ second run came in the fifth, when Jason Pridie led off with a triple and scored on Josh Thole’s two-out single.
More depressing spring weather delayed the start of the game for 31 minutes. The temperature at game time was 42 degrees and a 15 mph wind was blew out of the north.
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Pagan (strained left oblique) could rejoin the Mets on Friday. … Davis (ankle) worked out inside for the second consecutive day, according to Collins. He is still unable to move laterally or do on-field activities. … Wright (back) received good news Wednesday, Collins said. Wright has begun core workouts and doctors think his back his healing well.