Christian Scott should soon start throwing from 120 feet, which would be another step forward for the rookie right-hander in his return from a UCL strain he suffered on July 22.
“Everything’s going well,” Scott said after a practice session Saturday before the Mets play the Marlins at Citi Field.
He has yet to start throwing his curveball, which will be another test on his return.
Scott’s return could be key to a playoff berth, as Senga Kodai is limited to upper-body work while recovering from a torn calf strain and president of baseball operations David Stearns said he has no immediate plans to recall promising 23-year-old right-hander Brandon Sproat from Triple-A Syracuse.
The 25-year-old Scot was impressive in most of his first seven games but struggled badly in his final two.
Still, adding some more talented pitchers to a starting rotation that already lacks depth would help.
The starting pitchers also haven’t been getting much action lately, but they were helped by Sean Manaea’s seven innings in Friday’s win.
Prior to that, only David Peterson had pitched more than five innings in a single rotation.
Given where the Mets are in the National League wild-card standings, they’ll likely count on Scott to help them out if he’s healthy.
“It’s going to get more intense soon,” Carlos Mendoza said of Scott’s rehabilitation process. “But… [how he is] Until I get on the mound and throw every pitch.”
Francisco Lindor continues to thrive in the leadoff position.
The shortstop brought a 10-game hitting streak into Saturday’s game against Miami, during which he went 16-for-45 with five extra-base hits.
Lindor had played in 79 games at the top of the batting order through Saturday with an .888 OPS, while he had played in 29 games as the No. 3 hitter with an OPS of .697 and as the No. 2 hitter with an OPS of .419.
And his 23 career home runs through Saturday were the most among National League shortstops.
Pete Alonso heard boos after striking out Friday night.
He hadn’t had a hit in his previous seven at-bats entering Saturday’s game and hadn’t had a hit in five of his last seven games, including going 0-for-15 earlier this month.
Mark Vientos returned to the second position for the third straight game on Saturday and continues to perform solidly at third base.
