SAN DIEGO — And out from behind curtain No. 2 came Travis d'Arnaud.
But on a night the Mets received their second highly anticipated arrival of the season — Zack Wheeler was the other, in June — the team was left wondering if Jenrry Mejia will continue in 2013.
D'Arnaud marked his major league debut with an 0-for-2 performance with two walks, and Mejia departed in the fourth inning because of elbow discomfort in the Mets' 8-2 loss to the Padres at Petco Park.
Mejia became potentially the second Mets starting pitcher lost in the last week, after Jeremy Hefner was placed on the disabled list Wednesday with a torn medial collateral ligament in his right elbow. The Mets will decide before today's game whether to place the 23-year-old Mejia on the disabled list.
AP
IT'S ALL RIGHT, MAN! Travis d'Arnaud, who made his big league debut last night, talks to Jenrry Mejia during the second inning of the Mets' 8-2 loss to the Padres. Mejia left the game in the fourth inning because of elbow discomfort.
More comforting to the Mets was the arrival of the 24-year-old d'Arnaud, a top catching prospect, after John Buck was placed on paternity leave following the birth of his son yesterday.
"[Tonight] was one of those feelings that everyone dreams they can have and I can't even describe it." d'Arnaud said. "Nervousness, rush of emotions, excitement, it's all just formed into one. It's just an unbelievable feeling that I hope everyone can feel one day."
D'Arnaud made a strong impression on the Mets in spring training and likely would have received a promotion to the major leagues before midseason had he stayed healthy. But d'Arnaud sustained a broken left foot at Triple-A Las Vegas in April, leaving it questionable whether his debut with the Mets would come in 2013.
With the score at 1-1 in the fourth, manager Terry Collins, pitching coach Dan Warthen and trainer Ray Ramirez converged on the mound, and Mejia was removed with the count 2-0 on Logan Forsythe. Mejia has battled arm problems for much of the year, pitching with bone chips in the elbow that will likely have to be surgically removed after the season. Mejia battled elbow discomfort in his start in Miami on July 31, but said this felt worse.
"I don't have to worry, because everybody knows it — the doctor says it's bone chips," Mejia said. "Today, this bothered me a lot."
David Aardsma replaced Mejia and surrendered three runs in the inning, including a two-run homer to Nick Hundley.
Jedd Gyorko iced the game with a three-run homer off Carlos Torres in the eighth, as the Mets (56-65) had a two-game winning streak snapped.
D'Arnaud had a chance to tie the game in the fifth, after the Mets had scored a run on Ike Davis' RBI single to pull within 4-2. After Wilmer Flores doubled Davis to third, d'Arnaud came to the plate and weakly grounded out.
In his first major league plate appearance, d'Arnaud walked on four pitches with two outs in the second. In the fourth, he flied out leading off the inning. He then walked in the eighth inning.
"You could see he was a little nervous, but I thought he was fine," Collins said. "At the plate he looked all right. He hasn't caught a couple of these guys in awhile, but I thought he did fine."
The Mets acquired d'Arnaud from the Blue Jays last December for R.A. Dickey in a deal that also netted stud pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard, outfielder Wuilmer Becerra and Buck. The Blue Jays acquired catchers Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas as part of the deal.
D'Arnaud had the opportunity to catch most of this pitching staff in spring training.
"He knows what he is doing back there," Matt Harvey said. "He's a good kid and he's willing to learn. He's going to figure things out real quickly."
Harvey said d'Arnaud's arrival will add a twist to the right-hander's scheduled start against the Padres in today's series finale.
"It will be fun," Harvey said. "It's a little bit of a change because I've thrown to Buck all year, but I'm definitely looking forward to it."
When Buck returns for Tuesday's game at Citi Field against the Braves, the Mets will have to make a roster decision. D'Arnaud would have a chance of remaining based on his performance, according to general manager Sandy Alderson. Otherwise, d'Arnaud will return to Las Vegas, likely until rosters can expand in September.
"We're certainly hoping he stays," Collins said. "Is there a plan going in? No. But you've just got to hope that he's ready to show us that he belongs here."
mpuma@nypost.com
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