Luis Rojas likes batting Jeff McNeil seventh in Mets' lineup
The Mets' Jeff McNeil is greeted by Robinson Cano after his two-run home run during the fourth inning against the Orioles at Citi Field on Sept. 9. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
PHILADELPHIA — Hot-hitting Jeff McNeil found himself batting seven again Tuesday night, and that is just the way manager Luis Rojas wants it.
"I like Mac with traffic," said Rojas, who also prefers to split up the team’s lefthanded hitters. "He’s not the guy that’s going to get deep into count. He swings early, he’s ready to hit. The pressure of having guys on the bases and McNeil hitting is real. He’s a guy that can spray the ball and he’s ready to attack."
Although he entered the game with a .422 average with and .800 slugging percentage in a dozen September contests, McNeil was way down in the No. 7 spot for the seventh time in his past 10 starts. In the other three, he hit leadoff against a lefthanded starter, replacing usual No. 1 Brandon Nimmo.
"[McNeil is] one of our best hitters with runners in scoring position," Rojas said. "I think it's Dom [Smith], [Michael] Conforto and then him. So that’s one of the reasons why we haven't used him consistently as a leadoff and rather we have him in the middle of the lineup where he can probably run into some traffic."
Whatever his spot in the lineup, McNeil has successfully revived his season.
All of the usual small-sample-size caveats apply in this 60-game season, but he bottomed out with a .253/.326/.304 slash line on Aug. 28. He began Tuesday with those numbers up to .319/.390/.493 — practically the same as his 2019 All-Star self.
"I started off pretty horrible. It’s not where I ever want to be," McNeil said. "But I was able to find my swing midseason. It’s tough in a season like this, you gotta find it pretty quickly. So I’m happy that I was able to do that."
Extra bases
Rojas said there is "no timeline" for catcher Tomas Nido to return from the injured list, where he has been since the Mets’ coronavirus shutdown last month . . . The Phillies hope Zack Wheeler (partially torn right middle fingernail) can start against the Mets on Wednesday night or Thursday night. He suffered the injury last week when his finger got caught in the zipper of his pants.
