{"id":14988,"date":"2025-05-10T03:42:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T03:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/14988\/"},"modified":"2025-05-10T03:42:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T03:42:15","slug":"carlos-mendoza-breaks-down-lineup-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/14988\/","title":{"rendered":"Carlos Mendoza breaks down lineup decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark Vientos<\/a> was out of the Mets<\/a> lineup for the second straight game. However, it\u2019s not an injury to the third baseman \u2014 the Mets simply have a lot of versatile pieces they can use to create optimal matchups against opposing pitchers.<\/p>\n

Against Chicago Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon on Friday, the Mets used left-handed hitter Brett Baty at third base instead of Vientos and hit him sixth, followed by second baseman Luisangel Acu\u00f1a<\/a> hitting seventh, Jeff McNeil at the DH spot hitting eighth, and Tyrone Taylor hitting ninth.<\/p>\n

The plan was initially to use McNeil in center field, but after he slid awkwardly on his hip in Arizona on Wednesday, the Mets felt it best to use him as the DH.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted him in the lineup,\u201d manager Carlos Mendoza said of McNeil. \u201cThat\u2019s the whole reason behind getting the lefty in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The numbers might make it seem like a strange decision since Taillon is holding left-handed hitters to a .161 average this season, while right-handers are hitting .290 off of him. However, having watched Taillon pitch for two seasons in the Bronx, Mendoza knows how his stuff plays. He wanted to get\u00a0McNeil and Baty in the lineup for their left-handed bats, and Acu\u00f1a, a right-handed hitter, in there for his speed.<\/p>\n

It worked effectively, with Baty and McNeil homering against Taillon, as well as Soto (another lefty) and Lindor (a switch-hitter who hit from the left side).<\/p>\n

Acu\u00f1a has been a spark plug of sorts for the lineup but was left on the bench twice in Arizona earlier in the week. Finding at-bats for a young player who has shown an ability to contribute off the bench is important so he can continue to develop in the big leagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s what every player goes through at the big league level \u2014 being able to do it day in and day out,\u201d Mendoza said of the 23-year-old infielder. \u201cHe\u2019s going to have to make some adjustments, and that\u2019s the challenge. That\u2019s why it\u2019s not easy to play at a high level day in and day out, and it\u2019s always an adjustment period here for the younger players when they get to the big leagues, because the teams will make adjustments. So I think that\u2019s the next level for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pitchers are going to figure out how to neutralize Acu\u00f1a at the plate. Rookies are prone to slumps for this reason, and the ones who make it out of those slumps are the ones who learn to hit their way out of them.<\/p>\n

Acu\u00f1a has yet to hit that point, but he\u2019s also not playing every day. It\u2019s a different challenge, but one the Mets think he can handle.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the tools, we know he\u2019s having success, and we know everything that he brings to the table,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cBut I think as he continues to get opportunities, teams will adjust to it, and he\u2019s going to have to make some adjustments as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

TRAINER\u2019S ROOM<\/p>\n

Right-hander Frankie Montas (lat strain) is coming up on a big benchmark in his rehab. After four bullpens, the starter is finally getting ready to face hitters, which could happen by the end of next week.<\/p>\n

Right-hander Paul Blackburn (knee inflammation) will make another rehab start Sunday, this one with Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets want to stretch him out to 70 pitches, and he\u2019s scheduled to throw 50 on Sunday. Mendoza estimates that Blackburn would need three or four more rehab starts to reach that threshold.<\/p>\n

Originally Published: May 9, 2025 at 7:35 PM EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mark Vientos was out of the Mets lineup for the second straight game. However, it\u2019s not an injury…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2396],"tags":[5,1325,1332,2186,228,101,4,1690,61,2548,4203,5808],"class_list":{"0":"post-14988","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-mets","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-frankie-montas","10":"tag-jeff-mcneil","11":"tag-luisangel-acuna","12":"tag-mark-vientos","13":"tag-mets","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-mets","17":"tag-newyork","18":"tag-newyorkmets","19":"tag-paul-blackburn"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114481472745783404","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}