Mets’ Yoenis Cespedes Removed in Inning 2 of Game 4

New York Mets Center-Fielder Yoenis Cespedes was removed from Game 4 of the Mets-Cubs playoff series on Wednesday after he began feeling a soreness in his left shoulder during the second inning. Nevertheless, Cespedes insisted that this pain was not due to a morning golf game. Cespedes was 0-1 with a single strikeout at that point in the game. He told his trainer Ray Ramirez that he couldn’t lift his arm, so he was immediately taken out.

“No, it didn’t affect me at all. It’s been part of my routine. I played all year long and I played all last year. It actually helps me with my swing,” Cespedes said through a translator. “I’ll be fine by Sunday. If not, I’ll chop it off and put a new (arm) on.”

Golfer Justin Wood tweeted out a picture that same afternoon of the morning golf game at the nearby Medinah Country Club, saying “So I guess my uncle decided to go with Yoenis Cespedes today.”

At the end of the game, ESPN reporter Buster Olney tweeted that the center-fielder weakened the AC joint in his shoulder by doing pushups at Wrigley Field. Wrigley lacks a weight room, unlike other Major League ballparks.

The Mets defeated the Cubs 8-3 on Wednesday night. Cespedes walked and scored on his teammate’s three-run blast in the first inning. He also had his best game of the series and “one of the greatest moments of his career thus far,” according to a direct quote from Cespedes, during Game 3 on Tuesday night, during which he went 3-for-5 with two RBI while also stealing third with a slide and scoring the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.