New York Mets' Asdrubal Cabrera leaves game with knee injury

NEW YORK -- New York Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera had to be helped off the field Sunday afternoon when he suffered a strained patellar tendon in his left knee while scoring a run in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field.

Cabrera was on first base when Neil Walker tripled off the right field wall. Cabrera appeared to hurt himself taking his first step after touching third base, after which he hopped and slowed down dramatically as he hobbled home, putting little weight on the left leg.

After crossing the plate, Cabrera -- who missed more than two weeks in spring training with a patellar tendon injury -- crumpled to the ground in pain and exited the field with an arm slung around two teammates. Wilmer Flores, who started at third base, shifted to shortstop while Kelly Johnson came off the bench to play third base.

Cabrera, who signed a two-year contract as a free agent in December, had been the most durable player for the injury-plagued Mets. He is batting .255 with 13 homers and 33 RBIs in a team-high 100 games.

If Cabrera requires a stint on the disabled list, he would become the sixth member of the Mets' starting Opening Day lineup to hit the shelf. Third baseman David Wright (neck surgery) and pitcher Matt Harvey (thoracic outlet syndrome surgery) are out for the year while first baseman Lucas Duda has been out since May 21 with a stress fracture in his lower back and center fielder Juan Lagares will need surgery after going on the disabled list with torn ligaments in his left thumb on Friday.

In addition, catcher Travis d'Arnaud missed almost two months with a sore right shoulder. Third baseman Jose Reyes, who joined the Mets July 5, went on the disabled list Saturday with a left oblique strain. Left fielder Yoenis Cespedes has not spent time on the disabled list but has missed 12 games -- including Sunday's -- due to a pair of leg injuries.