The New York Mets secured a much-needed win over the Seattle Mariners in the 2025 MLB Little League Classic on Sunday night in Williamsport, but the 7-3 victory came at the cost of a concerning injury to catcher Francisco Alvarez.
The 23-year-old left the game before the top of the eighth inning after jamming his right thumb on a headfirst slide into second base in the bottom of the seventh. Alvarez had doubled off the wall in right field for his third hit of the night and immediately called for time after making contact with the bag.
Trainers examined him on the field, and although he remained in the game long enough to advance to third, he was replaced by Luis Torrens behind the plate when the Mets took the field again.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza addressed Alvarez’s injury after the game.
When asked what he could tell about Alvarez, Mendoza said, “Nothing as of right now, it’s a thumb injury. He’s going to go back to New York, and he’s gonna get an MRI tomorrow. So right now we don’t know what we are dealing with, but we just got to wait now.”
Carlos Mendoza says that Francisco Alvarez is going back to New York to get an MRI on his thumb tomorrow pic.twitter.com/SCrdtQwnd8
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The injury came during what was one of Alvarez’s best offensive outings of the year. He finished the night 3-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored, and an RBI, continuing a stretch of strong play after missing the season’s opening month due to a fractured hamate bone in his left hand.
Alvarez also has a troubling history with hand injuries. In 2023, he tore a ligament in his left thumb while stumbling around second base, an injury that required surgery and sidelined him for more than two months.
Before Alvarez’s exit, the Mets’ offense had surged against Mariners starter George Kirby. Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil opened the second inning with singles, setting up Alvarez’s RBI double to left-center.
Brett Baty followed with a run-scoring single before Mark Vientos added a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0. Vientos later delivered the game’s biggest blow in the fifth inning, sending a 1-1 sinker 385 feet to right field for a three-run homer, his 13th of the season, pushing New York ahead 6-1.
Francisco Lindor continued his hot streak with three hits, including an RBI double, marking his fifth straight multi-hit game. Alvarez matched him with three hits before leaving injured, and Vientos drove in four runs in total.
On the mound, Clay Holmes bounced back from recent struggles to give the Mets five innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits with four strikeouts and one walk on 88 pitches.
Despite hitting Randy Arozarena with his first pitch of the game, Holmes escaped multiple jams before handing the ball to the bullpen. Reed Garrett allowed a two-run homer to Cal Raleigh in the seventh, but Brooks Raley, Ryan Helsley, and Tyler Rogers combined to finish the job.
The Mets improved to 66-58, remaining one game ahead of the Reds for the final NL Wild Card spot and closing to within three games of the Padres for the second slot.
