Terry Collins doesn’t appear in any hurry to change his newfangled Mets lineup.
After moving Curtis Granderson from cleanup to the No. 2 hole on Monday and inserting Daniel Murphy fourth, the manager on Tuesday indicated he might stay “a little bit” with this alignment.
“We’ve only done it for one day with this particular lineup,” Collins said before the Mets lost 3-0 to the Cardinals at Citi Field. “But I think as I told [Lucas] Duda and a few other people: Don’t be surprised in the next month, I think it’s going to change again. But we’ve put a lot on Lucas’ plate in the last week. I don’t need to pile it on.”
On Friday, Duda officially became the Mets’ full-time first baseman, when the club traded Ike Davis to the Pirates.
Granderson’s nightmarish start to the season necessitated moving him from the cleanup spot. Granderson finished 0-for-3 with a strikeout and is hitless in a career-worst 22 at-bats.
Dillon Gee is winless in his last seven starts at Citi Field, dating to last Aug. 8. He probably deserved better than the loss Tuesday, when he allowed two runs over six innings against the Cardinals.
The right-hander allowed both of his runs in the fourth before escaping a bases-loaded jam with nobody out.
“I’m happy with the way I limited the damage in the one inning — it could have gotten really ugly, and in the past it has,” Gee said. “For me, that was kind of a big step to have so far this season.”
Juan Lagares has begun running in Port St. Lucie. The outfielder was placed on the disabled list last week with a pulled right hamstring. Collins said there is no timetable for Lagares to play in a minor-league game.
Bobby Abreu made his Mets debut by flying out as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning. Collins indicated he likely will give Abreu a start in the outfield on Thursday against Cardinals right-hander Lance Lynn.
Abreu played right field at Triple-A Las Vegas, but has been told to be prepared for action in left. *
David Wright finished 0-for-4 and had a 12-game hitting streak snapped.