FLO-JO RISIN’
Wilmer, Reyes spark Mets — and maybe controversy
An old-fashioned position battle could be brewing in Flushing.
Jose Reyes arrived t his week to bolster third base, but Wilmer Flores seems intent on showing the Mets everything was just fine in the first place.
“I feel very good. I’m getting good pitches to hit and seeing the ball well,” Flores said Wednesday after hitting two home runs — on a day Reyes stroked two doubles — in the Mets’ 4-2 victory over the Marlins.
The difficult part for manager Terry Collins might be deciding who to play when the Mets open a four-game series Thursday against the NL Eastleading Nationals.
“It’s going to be hard,” Collins admitted, when asked if he can get both Reyes and Flores into Thursday’s lineup.
On Wednesday, Reyes started at shortstop after Asdrubal Cabrera was scratched — he was up all night with a sick family member, according to the Mets — moving Flores from first base to third and James Loney into the starting lineup. Originally, Reyes was supposed to start at third base for a second straight day since arriving from Double-A Binghamton. Reyes was 0-for-4 in his return to the Mets on Tuesday. But he hit two doubles Wednesday and nearly had a third extra-base hit, but Mar- cell Ozuna made a running catch on his line drive in the seventh.
“I feel way better today,” Reyes said. “I feel like me today — I wasn’t as excited. It was like another day for me.”
How does Reyes feel about potentially competing with Flores for at-bats?
“It’s great to see that Flores contributes for this team like that,” Reyes said. “Hopefully he can continue to be that way and Flores, he’s always been such a good hitter and go on a hot streak like that.”
Jacob deGrom (5-4) allowed only two runs on six hits over seven innings with seven strikeouts and two walks, as the Mets improved to 6-1 on a homestand that included a four-game sweep of the Cubs.
Flores, who went 6-for-6 against the Cubs on Sunday, has four homers on the homestand after hitting two against Marlins lefty Justin Nicolino. Flores admitted he considered a three-homer game — he had two cracks at the third homer, but was retired both times.
“I thought about it, I am not going to lie, but it didn’t happen,” Flores said. “I got the pitches, but it didn’t happen.”
Giancarlo Stanton’s second homer of the game and fourth in two days sliced the Mets’ lead to 4-2 in the sixth. The second blast was the 200th of Stanton’s career and gave him homers in four consecutive at-bats. On Tuesday, he homered in the seventh and eighth innings against Steven Matz and Erik Goeddel, respectively.
Flores’ second homer, a shot into the left-f ield seats leading off the fourth, gave the Mets a 4-1 lead. Reyes doubled leading off the next inning and stood at third with the bases loaded, but wa s left stranded when Flores hit into a double play.
Reyes’ double in the third helped the Mets take a 3-0 lead on Curtis Granderson’s two-run single. Rene Rivera walked leading off the inning to begin the rally.
Collins noted a possible correlation between Flores’ torrid stretch and Reyes’ signing with the team on June 25.
“[Flores] was doing OK and all of a sudden we signed Jose and he got hot,” Collins said. “These guys are very proud, and they don’t go down without a fight. He’ swung the bat great the last five days.”