Then, on his ninth pitch of the inning, a cutter that fell out of the strike zone for a ball, Minter pulled his elbow in, winching in pain. Mets trainers wasted no time in visiting Minter on the mound, and after a brief moment, the veteran reliever was headed back into the dugout, his head hanging as he left.

New York Mets reliever A.J. Minter leaves game with injuryRegardless, he was out of the game, which meant another reliever had to come into the game right away. And New York manager Carlos Mendoza called on 27-year-old pitcher Max Kranick to come in completely cold,

The lefty left Saturday's game after throwing his ninth pitch. He signed a two-year deal with the Mets for $22 million in January.

Francisco Alvarez hit a two-run homer and the visiting New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals 2-0 on Saturday.