Tonight’s Mets Lineup vs. Tigers

Here is the lineup Terry Collins will send to the plate against Tigers lefthanded pitcher Phil Coke:

Jose Reyes – SS
Justin Turner – 3B
Carlos Beltran – RF
Ronny Paulino – C
Jason Bay – LF
Angel Pagan – CF
Scott Hairston – DH
Daniel Murphy – 1B
Ruben Tejada – 2B

Interesting to see Turner back up in the #2 spot; maybe his thumb is feeling better? Pagan is down low because his righthanded hitting has been atrocious this year. I like seeing Murphy in the lineup against the lefty, though the Mets don’t have many choices at 1B. I wouldn’t have minded seeing Lucas Duda in there at the DH spot against the LHP as well, but the Mets are gunning for a Wild Card spot and can’t afford to leave the lefty-killing Scott Hairston on the bench (Hairston has a .654 OPS vs. LHPs this year).

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.