Tyrone

Taylor

Taylor started over Siri in the first two games of the season, but Siri then got the call in six of seven games before taking a seat the last two. Blame Siri’s 1-for-20 start at the plate. The Mets knew they wouldn’t get consistent offense from him, but thus far, he’s not even hitting the ball hard when he does make contact.

Taylor will get a break after starting the first two games. Jose Siri is getting the start against Spencer Arrighetti and the Houston bullpen.

The Mets announced those operations for Taylor on Friday, and also said that the average timeline for return for both operations was around two months. That should put the outfielder back in plenty of time for spring training, but obviously a complication with either injury could see that timeline change.

Taylor made a fantastic catch last night, but he’s just 4-for-29 with one RBI in the postseason. Apart from the switch in center, the players are the same as last night, though the No. 3 and 4 hitters have been flipped. The lineup: SS Francisco Lindor, 3B Mark Vientos, 1B Pete Alonso, LF Brandon Nimmo, RF Starling Marte, DH J.D. Martinez, 2B Jose Iglesias, CF Bader and C Francisco Alvarez

Winker was out against southpaw Cristopher Sanchez on Sunday, but he’ll return to the lineup against righty Austin Nola for the pivotal Game 3 contest with J.D. Martinez not in the starting group. Tyrone Taylor also was out of the lineup for Game 2, but he’s back in center with Harrison Bader retreating to the bench. The full lineup: SS Francisco Lindor, 3B Mark Vientos, LF Brandon Nimmo, 1B Pete Alonso, 2B Jose Iglesias, DH Winker, RF Starling Marte, CF Taylor and Francisco Alvarez catching with Sean Manaea on the mound.

Martinez gets the nod over Jesse Winker with the team facing southpaw Cristopher Sanchez. Harrison Bader also gets a start in favor of Tyrone Taylor. The full lineup for the Mets as they look to take a 2-0 lead: SS Francisco Lindor, 3B Mark Vientos, LF Brandon Nimmo, 2B Jose Iglesias, DH Martinez, RF Starling Marte, C Francisco Alvarez and RF Bader.

Even with the Braves throwing a right-handed pitcher, the Mets will still go with Tyrone Taylor in right field and will now start Harrison Bader in center field. It gives the Mets their best defensive lineup, and Winker has also been hitting .071 in 18 games in September, so the decision does make sense in that regard.

For a moment, it looked like Taylor was going to be the hero of this game. His eighth inning homer off Cristopher Sánchez was the first blow in the pitcher’s duel between Sánchez and David Peterson. The Mets would eventually blow it, but that’s not on Taylor. He’s been a solid player for the Mets in a rotational role and could play a bit more frequently this week after Starling Marte was hit on his forearm by a pitch Saturday.

Tyrone Taylor is filling in for Nimmo against a left-hander on Monday. Jesse Winker would probably be in left field versus a righty.

Iglesias had a day off on Thursday but will be back in the lineup with Jeff McNeil shifting back to right field, Tyrone Taylor in center field and both Dj Stewart and Harrison Bader on the bench. Iglesias has been tremendous since being called up on May 31st and is a career .281 hitter, so his solid batting average should not be treated as a fluke. If you need batting average with the chance for solid counting stats in a good lineup, Iglesias could fill that need.