Brett Baty left out of Mets lineup against righty

It’s the second time in the last four games that Semien has found himself left out of the starting lineup, which is at least something to monitor going forward. Brett Baty will cover second base in his absence and will bat seventh against Nationals’ right-hander Jake Irvin.

Semien takes a seat with Brett Baty getting the nod at the keystone in this one. The 35-year-old veteran second baseman has homered five times in 22 games since last month’s All-Star break, but he’s batting just .203 (15-for-74) during that span.

Baty had previously hit two of his three career triples with the bases loaded, but zero of his 40 homers. He’s still at a very disappointing .215/.286/.330 in 379 plate appearances for the year. His emergence in 2025 suggested that he was on his way to becoming a fine platoon starter, but he needs to get it together down the stretch here if he expects to be a significant part of the Mets’ plans for 2027.

No surprise after Benge suffered a left wrist injury on a collision with the left-field wall while making a sliding catch during Friday’s contest. The positive news for the Mets, and fantasy managers, is that initial X-rays came back negative for any fractures, and the Mets are currently calling it a bone bruise. It sounds like he could be back by the middle of next week. It’ll be fellow rookie A.J. Ewing taking over in left field with Luis Robert Jr. patrolling center field and Brett Baty in the opposite corner.

The Mets are being careful to ease the dynamic 29-year-old outfielder back into a full-time role. giving him ample days off to make sure that he remains fresh. A.J. Ewing will slide over and cover center field on Friday night while Brett Baty starts in right field and will bat seventh against Carmen Mlodzinski and the Pirates.

With Luis Robert Jr. off the injured list, there was an expectation that the Mets would rotate through their outfielders, but Robert Jr. is on the bench for this one too. Brett Baty will start in right field, which will allow Jorge Polanco to DH and Marcus Semien to play second base. There will be a logjam at certain positions over the next week or so until the Mets can trade some players away.

The Mets are being careful to ease Polanco back into full-time action following his extended stay on the injured list. Juan Soto will serve as the team’s designated hitter in his place on Sunday while Brett Baty draws a start in right field and will bat eighth against Phillies’ right-hander Alan Rangel.

Baty led off the seventh inning with a 378-foot (95.6-mph EV) solo shot off of Aaron Nola that extended the Mets’ lead to 2-0. He also singled in the contest. With his two-hit attack, the 26-year-old infielder is now slashing .224/.299/.327 with five homers, 32 RBI and five stolen bases across his 332 plate appearances.

The Mets aren’t going to take any chances with the All-Star break looming at the conclusion of the weekend. Virtually every player is dealing with bumps and bruises at this juncture of the season. Bichette has delivered at the dish recently, hitting .309 (38-for-123) with five homers and 19 RBI over his last 30 games. There’s a decent chance he’s back for Sunday’s first-half finale. It’ll be Brett Baty taking over at the hot corner for the second straight contest.

In a game where the Mets mustered 10 hits, only two went for extra-bases and they only scratched across two runs. Baty scored both of those and hit a home run in the process. He also had a 111 mph lineout and 106 mph single, accounting for three of their five hardest hit balls on the night. While he was an unmitigated disaster at the plate for the first few months of the season, he’s currently riding a 10-game hitting streak, stole a base in consecutive games, has loud tools, and has started 19 consecutive games.