The Mets add Jeff McNeil to the lineup for Game 5 of NLCS vs. Dodgers

NEW YORK – New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is looking for the right combination of hitters to score a few more runs in Friday's fifth NLCS game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He uses four left-handed hitters, including second baseman Jeff McNeil and designated hitter Jesse Winker.

For the 32-year-old McNeil, it will be his first postseason start this month.

“I'm trying to give our lineup a different look, there's an extra lefty today,” Mendoza said Friday afternoon.

McNeil hit .238 during the regular season and played 129 games. He will replace Jose Iglesias in the lineup. Iglesias had exactly one hit in each game of the series, but Mendoza wants to give Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty a different look after the righty shut out his team over seven innings in Game 1 on Sunday. He also moved third baseman Mark Vientos down one spot in the order, from second to third.

“Because they only took one left-handed hitter out of the field, I don’t want to give them the opportunity to hit a left-handed hitter at any time,” Mendoza said of the move. “And then with some of the left-handed hitters in the lineup, we just protect some of the right-handed hitters as well. So I try to space these guys out as much as possible and not give them an easy line.”

During the regular season, Flaherty was actually tougher against lefties than righties, but in the first game of the series he hit both sides of the plate, allowing just two hits and two walks. The Mets are hoping a second game in five days will make the difference.

“It’s a game of adjustments,” Mendoza said. “We saw him recently, but he also saw (our) batsmen. So he has a good sense of what we're trying to do. And we’re going to have to make some adjustments and we’re going to make some adjustments.”

The Mets, down 3-1 in the series, are also simply hoping to perform better at the plate with men on base, regardless of who is on the mound. In their Game 4 loss on Thursday, they managed 10 hits and three walks but scored just two runs.

“We have to learn from this,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said after the 10-2 loss.

Meanwhile, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman is back in the starting lineup after sitting out Game 4. He suffered a sore ankle.