Major League Baseball

Big Apple at Citi Field gets Band-Aid after d'Arnaud bonking

Published Oct. 18, 2015 8:31 p.m. ET

foxsports

NEW YORK (AP) The bruised big apple at Citi Field got a Band-Aid.

A day after being hit by Travis d'Arnaud's long home run, the 4,800-pound faux fruit behind the center-field fence had two large, white strips in the shape of an ''X'' on top of it before Game 2 of the NL Championship Series.

The playful bandage was on there during batting practice Sunday night, then pulled off before the New York Mets hosted the Chicago Cubs.

D'Arnaud hit the apple with a 431-foot homer as the Mets won the opener 4-2.

The 16-foot-tall by 18-foot diameter red apple, which rises after home runs, is much larger than the old Shea Stadium version, which was 9 feet high and weighed 582 pounds.

The old apple is now stationed near the home plate entrance of the new ballpark.