Jeff McNeil got another start at second base in Thursday’s 3-2 win over Miami against right-hander Roddery Munoz. And he went without a hit again.
With the Padres scheduled to go with three right-handers when they come to Citi Field beginning Friday, the lefty-swinging McNeil still may get the nod over the hot-hitting Jose Iglesias, with Carlos Mendoza making it clear Thursday.
“I’ll continue to say, ‘Jeff McNeil is our second baseman,’ ” Mendoza said before the game. “He’ll continue to get playing time. Iglesias has been great, especially against lefties. [Iglesias’] defense, his energy, talking to players, has been great. We need Jeff McNeil.”
McNeil sat four straight games, all versus lefties, before he returned to the lineup against a right-hander when the Mets faced the Phillies in London.
He responded with two hits, but then went 0-for-4 in Wednesday’s win over Miami and 0-for-3 Thursday to drop his OPS to .601.
“He wants to help the team,” Mendoza said. “He was frustrated that a couple calls didn’t go his way. He’s a competitor and he wants to help. This is a good hitter, a good player — that’s gotten off to a slow start.”
Mendoza noted that McNeil was among the players that took early batting practice Thursday, along with Francisco Alvarez and Pete Alonso.
“He will get opportunities,’’ Mendoza said. “We need these guys to get going because he’s a really good player.”
With Edwin Diaz returning from an IL stint, the Mets chose to option left-hander Danny Young instead of Dedniel Nunez, who impressed Wednesday with 2 ¹/₃ scoreless innings against Miami.
Mendoza said the decision “was not an easy one.”
The Mets went with the right-handed Nunez because of his “dominance” and Mendoza indicated he could pitch in bigger spots.
“He can go multiple innings and pitch high-leverage,’’ Mendoza said.
Young’s departure leaves the Mets with just one lefty in their bullpen, Jake Diekman, so they will continue to rely on some right-handers against lefties.
Sean Reid-Foley has been among the righties that’s handled lefties well.
Nunez, Young and Reed Garrett still have minor league options, as do Grant Hartwig and Josh Walker — both already at Triple-A Syracuse.
The Mets finally found a catcher who can throw out potential base stealers.
Luis Torrens got Nick Gordon at second to end the top of the third.
Although Jazz Chisolm Jr. swiped second in the fifth, Torrens has still thrown out four of the six runners that have tried to run on him. His 66.7 percent rate is miles ahead of any other backstop the Mets have had this season.
Francisco Alvarez is 0-for-11, while Tomas Nido was successful on just six of 32 attempts, (18.7 percent) and Omar Narvaez was 2-for-35 (6 percent).
“He’s got a good arm, a cannon,” said Mendoza, who knew Torrens from the Yankees’ farm system. “He has [good] footwork, gets rid of the ball quickly and can really throw.”
Brandon Nimmo walked and scored in the seventh, but didn’t have a hit. In his previous 24 games, the left fielder had an OPS of just .569 with six extra-base hits and 36 strikeouts in 104 plate appearances. … DJ Stewart struck out as a pinch hitter in the eighth and is 1-for-23 with 10 strikeouts in his last dozen games.