Johnson finally gets his short-porch HR

Kelly Johnson has bounced around to so many teams in his career, there is a good chance a road ballpark will have a familiar feel for the Mets utilityman.

Yankee Stadium falls into that category. Johnson played a halfseason for the Yankees in 2014 and enjoyed aiming at the short right-field porch in The Bronx, but never had much success. In that regard, his first-row home run in the fifth inning Thursday night against the Yankees’ Nathan Eovaldi was worth celebrating.

“That’s the first home run I’ve hit here like that,” Johnson, who had seven previous Stadium homers, but none to the short porch, said after just clearing the fence in right for a solo shot in the Mets’ 4-1 Subway Series victory over the Yankees. “It was nice to get one. I was joking on the bench: It’s like the bucket list of home runs in the big leagues. First row at Yankee Stadium, the Pesky Pole, where you hit a pop up at Fenway [Park]. At least I got one of them.”

Johnson started at third base against the righty and likely will receive the same assignment Friday night, when the Mets face Justin Verlander in Detroit.

Manager Terry Collins said the key to Johnson’s success is picking the right spots to use him. Since returning to the club on June 8, he is 24-for-85 (.282) with four home runs and has started at four different positions.

The Mets are getting the same kind of production from Johnson they came to expect last season, when he was an important bat over the final two months.

“You just stay ready,” Johnson said. “The coaches do a good job of letting us know what to expect coming up on the schedule, giving us a heads up, and you kind of see it sometimes where you fit in and get to play and watching video and staying ready, that’s all it is.

“We’ve got some guys that have done really well in that role. Alejandro [De Aza] has done great. Wilmer [Flores] has come up and picked up the pace. Hopefully we contribute like that and get all the big guys hot and start a roll here.”