DJ Stewart may not be your typical leadoff hitter, but his unconventional looks certainly didn’t hurt the Mets on Sunday.
Manager Carlos Mendoza benched Brandon Nimmo (at least as a starter) after leaving the previous game with intercostal muscle inflammation, and put the slugger Stewart in the leadoff position heading into the final game of the series against the Braves.
Stewart reached base in three of his four at-bats (two singles and one walk), and Nimmo came on as a pinch runner in the seventh inning.
At Citi Field, Nimmo hit a walk-off, two-run homer in the ninth inning against AJ Minter, and the Mets escaped with a 4-3 victory.
Stewart batted leadoff early in spring training, before Nimmo started appearing in games, but had not batted at that position since high school.
“He’s a player who controls the strike zone,” Mendoza said before the game. “He’s going to get on base and do some damage. I’m just trying to mix some things up with a lot of left-handed players.”
Stewart entered the season with a slash line of .185/.372/.415 with four home runs and 16 RBIs in 65 at-bats. Mendoza also indicated he was considering Francisco Lindor, Starling Marte and Jeff McNeil for that slot.
Shintaro Fujinami is sidelined with Triple-A Syracuse due to a shoulder problem.
The right-handed relief pitcher appeared in nine games for Syracuse this season, posting a 14.09 ERA. Fujinami arrived in the winter on a one-year contract worth $3.35 million, and his last pitching was May 3.
Drew Smith is being considered for return from the disabled list after playing his second rehab game at Syracuse on Saturday.
The right-handed pitcher has spent the past three weeks rehabbing from right shoulder pain.
“Everything is moving in the right direction,” Mendoza said.
Reid Garrett had three strikeouts in two innings.
The right-hander led all MLB relief pitchers with 35 strikeouts.
His six games with three or more strikeouts this season are the second-most by a major league relief pitcher behind Oakland’s Mason Miller (seven).
Max Kranik was placed on waivers and permanently committed to Syracuse.
The right-hander was named on Monday.
The Mets entered the game with a 2.80 ERA at home, ranking first in the National League and third in MLB.
