Luisangel Acuña found himself sitting against a right-handed starter again on Monday, with Jeff McNeil at second, Brett Baty at third and Jared Young at DH.
Carlos Mendoza said he wanted to get as many left-handed hitters in the lineup as possible against the White Sox— and that could continue to be the case with Chicago scheduled to go with righties the entire series.
That led to Mendoza saying the Mets need to consider Acuña’s development, since they value him playing on a regular basis as opposed to being limited to a defensive replacement on their roster.
“With Jared here and the way Brett is playing, [Acuña’s] playing time against this stretch of a lot of righties, are some of the discussions we’re having,’’ Mendoza said. “We’ve got to continue to help him and support him.”
Acuña pinch ran for Francisco Alvarez in the eighth, got to third on a Brandon Nimmo single and scored the tying run on Juan Soto’s sacrifice fly in a 2-1 win over Chicago.
Afterward, Mendoza called Acuña “a weapon” with his speed and his glove, but the Mets are monitoring his playing time.
“When you’re not getting everyday at-bats as a young player that’s used to playing every day, it’s hard to get in a rhythm,’’ the manager said. “We’re doing everything we can to keep him sharp, also understanding playing time is huge.”
Mendoza added they’ll “go day by day and week by week” with Acuña, who has a .579 OPS versus right-handed pitching and a .744 mark versus lefties.
He’s also just 7-for-43 with no extra-base hits, a walk and 10 strikeouts in his past 16 games
Mark Vientos also sat versus a right-hander Monday, with Mendoza saying the third baseman is “fine, good to go” after suffering abdominal discomfort.
Sean Manaea’s rehab from the strained oblique that’s sidelined him since the spring is set to take another step forward Thursday, when the left-hander is scheduled to face batters for the first time since suffering the injury.
Among the hitters that will face Manaea is Jose Siri, who has been out since April 17 with a fractured left tibia.
The outfielder took batting practice on the field over the weekend and is still going through his running program, although he hasn’t yet begun to move side to side, according to Mendoza.
Edwin Díaz tossed a scoreless ninth and hasn’t allowed a hit in 27 straight at-bats, the longest streak in the majors.
He also hasn’t allowed an earned run in his past 12 outings, covering 12 ²/₃ innings.
He’s part of a bullpen that tossed 3 ¹/₃ shutout innings Monday, including another 1 ¹/₃ from Huascar Brazobán, whose nine scoreless innings of four outs or more top the majors.
Nimmo returned to the lineup Monday for the first time since leaving Friday’s game with a stiff neck.
He entered Monday hitless in his previous 17 at-bats and had two hits.
Pete Alonso’s throwing woes didn’t cost the Mets on Monday, but after a pair of nice diving plays at first base, he threw behind the pitcher covering first base.
Clay Holmes and Brazobán each made the play.
