Jason Vargas, four innings through another solid outing, was pulled from Sunday’s start for the New York Mets in the final game of a three-game set in Milwaukee.
After losing the first two games of the series — the second one coming after an 18-inning marathon on Saturday night — the Mets needed a strong performance from the 36-year-old left-hander to ease the stress on an already taxed bullpen.
With just 50 pitches thrown on the afternoon (three earned runs, five strikeouts, no walks), manager Mickey Callaway elected to send Michael Conforto to bat for Vargas in the top of the fifth with Tomas Nido on second and the Mets down 3-1.
Many were baffled at the move, but a short time later the Mets released an update on the situation confirming “mild hamstring tightness” as the reason for Vargas’ early departure.
Keep it locked onto MMO for full details after Callaway’s post-game press conference.
