Neil Walker Leaves Mets’ 5-2 Road Win Over Brewers After Taking 107-MPH Grounder To Chest

Neil Walker’s catching instincts kicked in when he took a 107-mph groundball from Hernan Perez to the chest in the seventh inning of the New York Mets’ 5-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on Thursday night.

Neil Walker Leaves Mets’ 5-2 Road Win Over Brewers

With a runner on second and the New York Mets protecting a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh, Walker went down on one knee and attempted to smother the ball, taking Perez’s shot off his chest on a short hop.

The Mets second baseman doubled over, struggling to catch his breath. After initially staying in the game, Walker exited after the eighth inning and was replaced by pinch-hitter Matt Reynolds in the top of the ninth. 

“Taking a line like that off the chest, I just felt a little weary afterwards. Didn’t quite feel right,” Walker said afterward. “I thought it was best to let the doctors see me as a precautionary measure.”

Although manager Terry Collins feared at first that Walker had suffered a broken rib on the play, doctors determined that the Met wouldn’t require to undergo X-rays.

“That ball hit him right in the heart, in the rib cage, and couldn’t catch his breath,” Collins said. “Between innings he got a little dizzy, so I got him out of there.”

Walker later joked that he’ll “get a chest protector next time” and added that he didn’t believe the injury was serious.

“My first reaction was to kind of keep it in front of me,” Walker said. “You hope that it kind of hits you in the gut and you have enough meat there to soften it, but that wasn’t the case this time. As long as I don’t wake up [Friday] and things are feeling worse, I think I’ll be okay.”

Veteran New York right-hander Bartolo Colon (5-3) scattered eight hits over seven innings and limited Milwaukee to one run.

“He’s irreplaceable, to be honest. Nothing shakes him up,” Collins said. “This guy is a pro so to have him in that rotation really settles things down.”

Colon, 43, held the Brewers scoreless until the two-out, one-hop smash off the bat of Perez in the seventh that struck Walker.

Curtis Granderson led off the game by scoring a home run for the Mets off Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson (5-5). Granderson then doubled leading off the third and scored on a single by Yoenis Cespedes. 

Kevin Plawecki drove in two runs with a single in the eighth to give the Mets a 4-1 lead.

Second baseman Scooter Gennett, who had a career-high four hits, drove in a run with a double in the eighth to put the Brewers within two.

The Mets (33-26, 2nd in NL East) then scored their final run in the ninth on Reynolds’ pinch-hit single. Jeurys Familia earned his 20th save in 20 opportunities.

The two teams will next face off again at Miller Park on Friday night. Matt Harvey (4-8, 4.95 ERA) will face the Brewers (28-32, 4th in NL Central) for the first time in his career, while Junior Guerra (3-1, 3.61) will be making his first start against the Mets. Milwaukee is 6-1 in games started by Guerra this season.

PHOTO: NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 25:  Neil Walker #20 of the New York Mets reacts after his seventh inning two run home run against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field on April 25, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.  (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)