With the New York Mets on the brink of elimination, manager Carlos Mendoza is shaking up the lineup ahead of Game 5 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Left-handed hitters Jeff McNeil, Jesse Winker, and Tyrone Taylor have been inserted into the lineup, while Jose Iglesias, J.D. Martinez, and Harrison Bader will take a seat against Dodgers right-handed starter Jack Flaherty.
Ya Gotta Believe #LGM pic.twitter.com/a6NGipZbYp
— x – New York Mets (@Mets) October 18, 2024
The move comes as the Mets are down 3-1 in the series. One more loss and their World Series hopes are dashed.
New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza lambasted for Game 4 lineup
Mendoza was criticized for not having McNeil and Winker in the lineup for Game 4 against righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto, instead opting for right-handed hitters Iglesias and Martinez, who have been struggling this NLCS.
“Because they’ve only got one lefty out of the pen, I don’t want to give them an easy lane to shoot a lefty whenever they need to,” Mendoza said of the move, via ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers. “And then with some of the lefties that are in the lineup, just kind of protect some of the righties as well. So trying to space those guys as much as possible and not give them an easy line.”
"Trying to give a different look to our lineup"
— SNY (@SNYtv) October 18, 2024
Carlos Mendoza on inserting Jeff McNeil in to the Mets' lineup in place of Jose Iglesias: pic.twitter.com/I4sSWP16JR
Mendoza has also moved Mark Vientos down one spot in the order, as the hot-hitting third baseman will be batting third in Game 5. Brandon Nimmo will be hitting second.
The Mets have had trouble scoring runs. Outside of Game 2 when they put seven on the board, they’ve been shut out twice and scored two runs in Game 4.
First pitch for Game 5 of the NLCS is at 5:08 p.m. ET. Lefty David Peterson is starting for the Mets.