NEW YORK -- The Mets blew out the Detroit Tigers 10-2 on Tuesday night behind outfielder A.J. Ewing's electric major league debut, matching their biggest margin of victory this season. But another injury concern surfaced to dampen the night.
Catcher Francisco Alvarez left the game in the sixth inning with a right knee injury after taking a vicious swing at the plate. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Wednesday to determine the extent of the setback.
"We just got to wait," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "It didn't look good on that swing, obviously. We saw it right away and came out. We've got to wait."
Ewing went 1-for-2 with an RBI triple, three walks, two runs scored and a stolen base in the win.
Alvarez, a former top prospect, is batting .241 with four home runs and a .710 OPS in 37 games this season. He has missed extensive time over the past two seasons with thumb and hamate injuries, limiting him to 176 games across the two years.
Alvarez, 24, suffered the knee injury Tuesday fouling off a 2-1 fastball from right-hander Burch Smith. Backup catcher Luis Torrens replaced him with the count 2-2 and worked a walk that sparked a three-run inning.
Torrens will assume the starting catcher role if Alvarez misses time. Hayden Senger, the only other catcher on the Mets' 40-man roster, will likely get called up from Triple-A to replace Alvarez should the Mets place him on the injured list. Senger spent four days in the majors in April but didn't appear in a game. He made his major league debut last season.
The Mets, off to a dreadful last place start a quarter of the way through the regular season, already have five position players on the injured list, including shortstop Francisco Lindor, first baseman Jorge Polanco, and center fielder Luis Robert Jr.
Lindor is scheduled to undergo an MRI over the next two days, Polanco remains hampered by Achilles bursitis, and Robert's back injury is not progressing as expected. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Tuesday that none of the three regulars has a timetable for return.
