K-Rod Down With Severe Back Spasms

The Mets got a scare on Saturday night when closer Francisco Rodriguez was taken down by back spasms so severe that he collapsed outside the clubhouse. He was seen "weeping in pain" before he was put on a stretcher and taken to a hospital.

Two hours after the Mets' 3-2 victory over the Red Sox, New York offered no report on Rodriguez's prognosis, but there was some optimism that the problem would not keep Rodriguez out for long, since he'd never had back spasms before. The scene described by the New York Post seemed severe, though.

Rodriguez suffered the back spasms -- the first of his career, he said -- while running in pregame warmups and was unavailable to pitch the ninth inning. J.J. Putz closed out the game in K-Rod's place.

The Mets gave Rodriguez muscle relaxers before the game, but he collapsed shortly after waving off help from trainer Ray Ramirez and trying to leave the clubhouse under his own power.

The Post observed Rodriguez weeping from the pain after being helped into a golf cart, and a stretcher and emergency medical technicians were called to the scene.

Team officials then closed the gate in front of Rodriguez, preventing reporters for further watching the scene.

Just moments before the wild postgame scene, K-Rod spoke briefly to the media while grimacing in pain throughout the interview.

"I've never been through the type of pain I'm having right now," Rodriguez said. "It's a struggle even to walk."

Rodriguez had been perfect in 12 save opportunities, with an 0.87 ERA in his first year with the Mets after signing a three-year, $37-million deal as a free agent. While Rodriguez is out, the Mets will use Putz, a former All-Star closer with the Mariners, to work the ninth inning.

Over the past week the Mets have seen Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church go down with injuries of varying degrees.