It’s thumb’s down for surprised Conforto

MICHAEL Conforto was surprised to find out he was not in the lineup Tuesday night. The outfielder was a late scratch because of soreness in the base of his right thumb. He had an X-ray and was examined by a doctor Tuesday and was diagnosed with inflammation.

“Doctor said everything looks OK, just overuse and inflammation type thing,” Conforto said. “So I guess they scratched me from today’s lineup. I feel fine, I could play, but it’s good to be careful.”

Conforto is hitting .278 with a .385 on-base percentage and slugging .559 in a career-high 367 at-bats over 107 games. The 24-year-old has proven himself to be the cornerstone of the Mets’ future lineups after a brutal sophomore season in 2016. The Mets don’t need to risk injuring him in the final six weeks that they are admitting are just an evaluation period for 2018.

“They just told me it’s pretty sore today. There is just no sense of pushing it to where we can make it worse, where it leads to several days,” Terry Collins said.

“We won’t have him hit today, hopefully he’s ready for tomorrow.”

Conforto said he expects to be back in the lineup tonight.

NOAH STEPS IT UP

Noah Syndergaard will make another step in his rehab today. The big righthander will pitch batting practice before the Mets game against the Diamondback. Syndergaard has not faced live hitters since April 30, that was when he left the game against the Nationals with what turned out to be a torn right lat muscle. Mets