"It sucks, you hate to see it" - Mets manager Carlos Mendoza gets emotional about Griffin Canning suffering serious injury

The New York Mets once again regained the lead in the National League East standings with a dominant 4-0 victory against their rival, the Atlanta Braves, on Thursday night. However, the vital win came at a cost.

During the third inning, starter Griffin Canning suffered a freak injury after delivering a routine pitch to Nick Allen. After the follow-through, Canning stepped off the mound to gather and position himself for defense. However, as he was establishing his left foot on the mound, something snapped in his leg, leading him to hobble and eventually lie on the grass in pain.

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In an interview with The Athletic after the game, Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza voiced his concern for his starter.

"It sucks. You hate to see it, especially the way he went down right away," said Mendoza.

Canning is scheduled to undergo MRI scans today to investigate a suspected Achilles tendon injury. Before being pulled, he pitched 2 2/3 innings of one-hit ball with three strikeouts.

Before the event, the 29-year-old was tied with 11 other pitchers for the second-most wins in the National League with seven. Now, manager Carlos Mendoza's tactics will be further tested as Canning follows Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill as the team's starters who have been shelved due to injuries.

"Nobody is going to feel sorry for us," Mendoza said. "We will find a way. Guys will step up. Our mentality is, ‘What do we need to do today?’"

Mets' bullpen steps up amid another starter injury

With the series on the line against their bitter rival, the Braves, the New York Mets' bullpen stepped up big time as starter Griffin Canning exited the contest early due to an injury. Canning was pulled in the third after what was a routine play in what is suspected to be an Achilles tear.

The Metropolitans walked away with a dominant 4-0 shutout in the series closer against Atlanta at home as the two teams ended up with a tie in the four-game set. Austin Warren, Dedniel Nunez, Ryne Stanek and All-Star closer Edwin Diaz held the fort as they gave up a total of two base hits in a combined 6 1/3 innings for the hosts.

So far, the Mets' bullpen boasts the seventh-best ERA across the majors at 3.40. They're also currently tied for first place for the least amount of home runs allowed, with just 22 at the time of writing.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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Edited by Daniel Santiago