Tatis Done For Year After Separating Right Shoulder In Loss To Nats

The Mets shot at making the playoffs took a huge blow last night when one of their key players got injured. Outfielder Fernando Tatis is out for the season after separating his right shoulder in the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals, which was a game that the Mets lost 1-0 to continue their September soon.

Tatis was hurt when he attempted to make a diving catch on Pitcher Odalis Perez's double. Tatis landed on his shoulder and stayed on the ground as the ball rolled past him for a double. He was replaced by Nick Evans.

New York manager Jerry Manuel said Tatis would not return during the regular season or for a possible playoff run."He's done. "That's very discouraging, to lose a big piece of where we are and what we've accomplished so far."When we lose Tatis, we definitely have to reassess where we are offensively."

A pleasant surprise since coming up from the minors, Tatis batted .297 this season with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs. He did a nice job filling in for injured outfielders Moises Alou and Ryan Church. Losing Tatis hurts the Mets, who fell out of first place in the NL East, a half-game behind Philadelphia with the loss. New York is also missing second baseman Damion Easley (quadriceps), another productive right-handed bat.