The Cardinals’ season ended Tuesday when J.D. Martinez’s swing shattered catcher Willson Contreras’ left forearm, and the three-time All-Star was ejected with what the team ultimately announced was a broken left arm.
With one out in the second inning, Miles Mikolas threw a slider that caused the Mets’ designated hitter to miss.
However, Contreras appeared to be close enough to Martinez to make contact with his arm.
Martinez ended up advancing to first base due to interference from the catcher.
And Contreras was clearly in pain.
He rolled behind the plate for a while, screaming in pain and moving around until a trainer arrived and helped Contreras stand on the field near the Cardinals’ dugout.
Early in the game, Contreras, who signed with the Cardinals after the 2022 season after spending seven MLB seasons with the Cubs, hit a double in the first inning against St. Louis University’s Jose Butt and then scored.
He entered Tuesday night batting .274 with a .931 OPS.
Contreras was an All-Star in 2018, 2019 and 2022, and was part of the team that broke the Cubs’ 108-year World Series drought in 2016.
Eight years later, he’s once again playing a key role on a Cardinals team looking to win its second National League Central Division title in the last three seasons.
St. Louis held a three-run lead until the fifth inning Tuesday, when the Mets scored six runs on target. Three runs were scored on Brandon Nimmo’s home run, two runs were scored on Pete Alonso’s double, and another was scored on Martinez’s RBI. .
