Jon Niese threw off a mound Sunday for the first time since being put on the disabled list on July 6 with a left shoulder strain, and he didn’t have any issues.
“I was a little rusty at the beginning, but I was able to get loose and cut loose,” Niese said after he threw two simulated innings before Sunday’s 9-1 Mets win over the Marlins at Citi Field. “It feels a lot stronger and the ball is coming out a lot better.”
The outing allowed Niese the chance to see how the shoulder felt after a short break. He threw 38 pitches.
He is scheduled to have another bullpen session when the Mets arrive in San Diego after the All-Star break for a three-game series that starts on Friday. If that goes well, Niese could rejoin the rotation during the following series in Seattle.
The Mets will open the second half with Bartolo Colon, Dillon Gee and Zack Wheeler starting their first three games, according to Terry Collins.
The manager said he would be reluctant to pitch Wheeler and Jacob deGrom on back-to-back days because they have similar stuff, which would mean Niese would likely go the first game in Seattle.
Regardless of order, the Mets would just like to have their rotation closer to whole.
Daniel Murphy got the afternoon off before heading to Minnesota for his first All-Star Game and although he said he wasn’t worried about individual numbers, he wouldn’t mind ending up at the top of some hitting categories.
“It’s not something I’ve thought about,” said Murphy, who entered the break with 113 hits, trailing only the Pirates’
Andrew McCutchen and the Marlins’ Casey McGehee (who each have 115) in the NL. “It’s not necessarily a goal, but if I lead the league in average or hits, I’ve probably done some good things for this team.”
Eric Campbell filled in for Murphy at second base, and his third-inning single extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Collins said before the game the team intended to stick with six outfielders on the roster after the break.
“I don’t know if we have any other options,” the manager said. “We’ll continue with what we got. I’ve not heard about any changes.”
Jeurys Familia pitched a scoreless eighth in his 45th appearance of the season.
The Marlins won a challenge in the bottom of the fourth, after Juan Lagares was initially called safe at first when it appeared Garrett Jones’ foot came off the base.