Curtis Granderson sat and waited for his opportunity and made a decent contribution to the Mets on Thursday.
The struggling outfielder was absent from manager Terry Collins’ starting lineup to give Bobby Abreu a start in right field, but delivered a pinch-hit, RBI single against lefty Kevin Siegrist that gave the Mets a 3-1 lead in the seventh.
“I’m getting there,” said Granderson, who snapped an 0-for-22 drought a night earlier. “But mentally everything still feels the same. Mechanically I’m starting to find exactly what’s going on. Over the last two days we’ve been able to get a couple of hits with it.”
Granderson, who raised his average to .137, is expected back in the starting lineup on Friday against the Marlins at Citi Field.
Abreu went 1-for-3 with a double in his first start since joining the Mets. The hit was his first in the major leagues since Sept. 28, 2012, with the Dodgers.
Collins said he liked the fact Abreu went to the opposite field with his double.
“That’s the Bobby Abreu everybody knows,” Collins said. “One of the reasons he was a great player and a great hitter, he’s got a tremendous approach at the plate. He’s patient, he’ll take a base-hit the other way, he’s dangerous — if you make a mistake he can hit a home run.”
Abreu can play both corner outfield positions, but has most of his experience in right.
“I put him in right field because I know that’s where he is the most comfortable,” Collins said. “But he’s going to help us. We get him some more at-bats and get him more comfortable, he’s going to help us a lot.”
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Scott Rice retired Matt Adams with two runners aboard in the eighth inning. The lefty has retired 10 of the last 11 batters he has faced and stranded 13-of-15 inherited runners.