Mets first baseman Pete Alonsois day-to-day with a right hand contusion, manager Carlos Mendoza explained before Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Reds. Alonso was 1-for-5 with a first-inning single in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Reds and was originally omitted from Sunday's lineup. He eventually replaced starter Mark Vientos at first base off the bench in the top of the seventh inning and had one plate appearance, an eighth-inning strikeout, en route to Sunday's 3-2 win.
"He's dealing with a right-hand contusion, kind of like on the base of the thumb area — felt it the first couple of at-bats yesterday, we took some X-rays and they were negative," Mendoza said of Alonso before Sunday's game.
"So, he's day-to-day. He's getting treatment. He said he's a lot better this morning. So, yeah, he's getting treatment right now and then we'll see if we've got a player at some point today."
After Sunday's game, Alonso updated his situation.
"Yesterday was kind of like managing it and managing the swelling and everything and today, obviously, didn't start the game, so it was precautionary," Alonso said, "and, yeah, I think the hand's in a really good spot, especially with swelling and pain management. I got to a point where I felt like I could go and help the team, and I was happy to get out there. Again, I'm happy that I was physically able to do so."
Before Sunday's game, Mendoza explained Alonso's precautionary status.
"When you're dealing with a hand injury, we thought it was best to get ahead of ourselves here, because it can linger, you know?" Mendoza said. "So, having the conversation with him, with the trainers, we thought it was just best, 'Hey, let's see how you feel today' — which he's feeling a lot better, getting treatment. But if you keep pushing this type of injury, it could affect him. So, trying to get ahead of ourselves and hopefully he's a player for us."
Alonso, who was indeed a player after sitting the first six innings, is slashing .275/.370/.502 with 21 home runs and 77 RBI through 100 games.
"When this stuff happens, you have to go through a checklist," Alonso said after Sunday's game. "We have squishy balls. It's like, 'OK, how does the swing feel hitting those? How does it feel, hitting the regular balls off the tee?' Same thing with flips, same thing with arm. And then I didn't hit off the regular machine today with baseballs — I hit with the squishy balls just to decrease the vibration of impact. But swing felt good today. It felt normal with my ABs, so that's a huge W. And didn't reaggravate it, which is another huge W. So, looking forward again to how it feels tomorrow."
Alonso enters this week's three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels, which starts with Monday's 7:10 p.m. opener on SNY, after extending his franchise-record 354 consecutive games played.
"I really don't care about the streak," he said after Sunday's game. "I just want to be out there and play every day, as long as I'm able to. That's just who I am. If I'm able to play, I'm going to strap it on and go do it. So, I was really happy that my body allowed me to get out there today and I just want to keep being able to do that."
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