QUEENS — New York Mets left fielder Tommy Pham exited Thursday’s game against the Chicago White Sox following the third inning with a groin injury that has continued to nag him from earlier this month. He will undergo further imaging within the next day, manager Buck Showalter disclosed after the game.
“He felt it stiffen up and I just didn’t want to take the chance of it getting back all the way,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “We’ll see if there’s an image from the last one we took before we make a decision on which way to go forward.”
The veteran righty grounded into an inning-ending double play just moments before where he slowly made his way down the first-base line. He was lifted directly after the play, but he suffered the injury when chasing down a Zach Remillard double down the left-field line in the second inning.
“I felt it get tight again. It’s a little frustrating, obviously. You want to be out there competing. Buck was just looking out for my best interest because I probably would have been dumb enough to try and play through this and would’ve made it worse. But Buck is just a great guy that he was looking out for my well-being.”
Pham was dealing with a groin issue before the All-Star break when the Mets were in San Diego taking on the Padres. While he said it didn’t feel as bad as that following Thursday’s game, he did admit that there was tightness.
“I don’t want to give out false hope and say something and have to retract back my words but I would say it’s not as bad as it was two weeks ago,” Pham said. “So there’s reason to be optimistic.”
Mark Canha, who started the game in right field, moved to left while Jeff McNeil moved from second base to right. Luis Guillorme entered the game at second base.
Pham has been one of the Mets’ most productive bats this season, his first in New York. Entering Thursday’s action he was batting .274 with an .838 OPS, nine home runs, and 35 RBI. Over his last 44 games since May 17, he was batting .315 with a .936 OPS.
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