PITTSBURGH -- New York Mets manager Terry Collins said he was unaware David Wright was bothered by a left shoulder issue until the captain confessed Friday that the pain had intensified in the series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Wright Collins said Wright, who originally injured the shoulder on a headfirst slide on June 12, still tried to talk the manager into letting him remain in Friday's lineup.
Collins would not allow that, knowing Wright blew out his right hamstring last season trying to play through a relatively minimal issue. Wright also played with a broken back for several weeks in 2011 before seeking a diagnosis.
"I think it's the best option," Collins said about holding Wright out and dispatching him to New York on Saturday for an MRI. "First of all, I absolutely salute him for coming in and saying something today. That's not David Wright, as you know, with what he did with the back a couple of years ago, with what he did last year with the leg, when he just plays through stuff. … He said, 'I don't want to do what I did with the leg, but can I try it anyway?' And I said, 'I don't think so.'"
The Mets had only Eric Young Jr. as a backup infielder Friday because Wilmer Flores was demoted before the series to make room for Juan Lagares' return from the disabled list. Collins said the team is prepared to continue playing down two infielders until there is a firm diagnosis on Wright. Flores is not eligible to return this quickly unless Wright lands on the disabled list.
Out of bounds: What was the umpiring crew's explanation to Collins for not calling Josh Harrison out of the baseline in the 10th inning on Friday?
Harrison "I don't know," Collins said. "That wasn't the difference [in the game]. I wasn't too happy at the time, so I'm not sure I was paying much attention."
Daniel Murphy echoed Collins' assessment that he believed Harrison had left the baseline, but the Pirates ultimately did not score in that inning. So, Murphy noted, it served only to "flip" the batting order, meaning Harrison was up again in the 11th, when he drove in the winning run in Pittsburgh's 3-2 victory.
deGrom's regret: Jacob deGrom regretted not covering first base on the one-out grounder Russell Martin smoked up the first-base line that Lucas Duda knocked down in the fourth inning. DeGrom figured Duda had cleanly snared the baseball, so the rookie was late covering. Jordy Mercer ended up producing a two-out, two-run single later that inning that evened the score at two.
"When he dove, I thought he had it. And I kind of looked toward second to see if he was going to get up and try to make the throw," deGrom said. "I didn't see the ball roll out. Yeah, I was frustrated I wasn't over there. If I get over there, they probably don't score. That's a little frustrating."
Still, deGrom was pleased with his 6⅔-inning outing. His velocity was up.
"I felt good," deGrom said. "We've been working on some things in the bullpen mechanical wise, because I was kind of cutting everything and not staying behind the ball. So we've been working on that. It really showed tonight."