Ces’ sidelined; Thor set for Sunday

WASHINGTON — The Mets’ star hitter won’t be returning to the lineup anytime soon, but their ace pitcher is preparing for his next start.

After the Mets’ 7-5 victory over the Nationals on Friday, manager Terry Collins said he plans to give Noah Syndergaard the ball in Sunday’s series finale. Syndergaard had a pregame bullpen session and later reported no discomfort in his right biceps. He had been scratched from his start a day earlier because of tendinitis.

Syndergaard declined to undergo an MRI exam, saying he felt it was unnecessary.

“When I came to the field [Thursday] I had every intention of pitching,” Syndergaard said. “But I had a little hiccup in my arm and took some anti-inflammatories and knocked it out. Threw a bullpen today and it felt great. Ready to go on Sunday now.”

Earlier in the day, the Mets placed Yoenis Cespedes on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. The All-Star outfielder was helped from the field Thursday after running to second base on a double.

Collins said doctors examining Cespedes’ test results did not find significant damage to the hamstring. The manager added the damage was to a different portion of Cespedes’ hamstring than he previously had injured — which had forced him to miss three games last weekend.

“It’s probably better news than we thought,” Collins said.

Even so, the Mets have been forced to use “2016” as their rallying cry.

With his team in desperate need of a winning streak to resurrect the season, Collins is reminding the Mets of the adversity they faced late last season as they rallied to capture a National League wild-card berth.

“This is something you have to do, it’s part of the job,” Collins said of the injury management. “You have to rearrange your roster and guys who play, but to have all these things happen at this particular time of the season, I understand you can have injuries, but we have had so many early it’s been a little frustrating.”

The disabled list includes Lucas Duda, Wilmer Flores, Steven Matz and Seth Lugo for a team that began spring training with suitable depth, but has been stretched thin.