Juan soto moved down in mets lineup shuffle

BOSTON — The status quo wasn’t working, so Carlos Mendoza decided a lineup shuffle might help on Wednesday.  Enter Starling Marte into the No. 2 hole in the Mets lineup, with Juan Soto and

Pete Alonso pushed to the third and cleanup spots, respectively, for the first time this season. Soto had previously been hitting second, with Alonso third.  The Mets entered the day

homerless in six consecutive games. Over that stretch they were 5-for-44 (.114) with runners in scoring position.  EXPLORE MORE “I am not a guy that likes to overreact,” Mendoza said before

the Mets faced the Red Sox in the series finale at Fenway Park. “I like consistency and to give guys chances, but I just felt today was a day to move people around, and especially the guys

at the top, facing a lefty [Garrett Crochet].”  But Mendoza’s hope is to give this new lineup construction an extended look. That could mean eventually placing Mark Vientos or Brandon Nimmo

in the No. 2 hole, behind Francisco Lindor.  It’s been a rough stretch for the Mets, who had lost five of six games heading into Wednesday. Included was the team’s first three-game losing

streak of the season.  “It also makes my job a lot easier when I go up to someone like Pete Alonso and say, ‘Hey, this is what I am thinking.’ And he’s like ‘I am all up for it,’ ” Mendoza

said. “With Soto, ‘This is what I am thinking,’ and he’s like, ‘Whatever you need, skip.’ It makes my job a lot easier when I am making these decisions.”  After going 1-for-10 in the Subway

Series over the weekend, Soto had a single in each of the first two games against the Red Sox. His last home run, entering play, was on May 9 against the Cubs.  Alonso, who won National

League Player of the Month award for March/April, has seen his numbers dip lately. He entered play with a .644 OPS for the month and hadn’t homered since May 5 in Arizona.  Some of it for

the Mets has been just plain bad luck. On Tuesday, they had three hard-hit balls with runners on base that went for outs on a night they were held scoreless.  “It’s nice when you have some

luck on your side, but when you don’t you just try to grind through it,” Nimmo said. “You try to focus on small things, winning every pitch, winning if you’re just able to get a base knock,

a walk. It starts really small, move guys over. I thought we have done a really good job of getting guys in scoring position. It’s just getting that big hit now and again.”  It was around

this time last season that Mendoza shuffled the lineup, moving Lindor into the leadoff spot. The Mets began a rebound offensively and ultimately resurrected their season.  “It comes down to

them executing,” Mendoza said. “I think Lindor, whether we put him in the leadoff spot, we knew the numbers were going to be there. It’s the same thing here with Juan Soto, with Pete Alonso.

At the end of the year the numbers are going to be there, regardless of where they are hitting. But I just felt like switching it up a little bit here might help the whole team and we will

go from there.”