Jeff McNeil has bruised right shin, hopes to play Tuesday

Jeff McNeil’s pursuit of the National League batting title will not be delayed or sidetracked by the injury that forced him out of the Mets’ 8-7 win over the Pirates on Sunday at Citi Field. That was the word from McNeil himself after X-rays of his bruised right shin were negative. He suffered the injury when he was hit by a pitch while leading off the first inning.

“It feels better now. Just at the time, it was not very good,” he said. “You’re always scared when you get hit. Yeah, it hurt pretty bad, so we thought it was best not to play the rest of the game. We’ll see how it feels on Tuesday.”

McNeil, hit on the lower leg by Chris Archer, remained in the game long enough to circle the bases on Michael Conforto’s home run. He was removed for pinch hitter Aaron Altherr when his turn came up again later in the six-run first.

McNeil hopes the off-day Monday will help him recover in time to play against the White Sox in Chicago on Tuesday. His .336 batting average is one point lower than that of the league leader, Christian Yelich of the Brewers.

Extra bases

Pirates starter Archer (3-8) did have one unqualified success: He remained perfect against Robinson Cano. The Mets’ cleanup batter went 0-for-3 and is hitless in 19 career at-bats against the righthander . . . Pittsburgh’s Jung Ho Kang (0-for-4) struck out three times against Jason Vargas and once against Justin Wilson . . . J.D. Davis went 2-for-3, giving him at least two hits in each of his past six starts . . . Matthew Allan, the pitcher who had been viewed as a first-round pick in the 2019 draft but fell to the Mets in the third round, made his professional debut for the Gulf Coast League Mets in rookie ball. He struck out two and allowed a hit in one scoreless inning against the Gulf Coast League Nationals.