MILWAUKEE -- New York Mets manager Terry Collins acknowledged before Thursday’s game that Curtis Granderson is not the ideal leadoff hitter these days, in part because he is not walking enough. In fact, Granderson entered the day with only a .300 on-base percentage. Yet Collins added that he has no legitimate alternatives atop the order.
So Granderson again led off in the series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. And he again flashed his power while scoring the Mets’ opening two runs.
Granderson took Jimmy Nelson deep for a game-opening homer. Granderson then doubled in his next at-bat and scored on Yoenis Cespedes' two-out single.
The Mets went on to beat the Brewers 5-2 at Miller Park.
“I think he’s our best option,” Collins said about Granderson leading off. “I know when he’s in the right state he gets on base. You look at what he did last year getting on base, he was incredible for us. OK, he’s got off to a slow start. But there’s a few of us that are off to a slow start. I just think he’s the guy. He likes leading off. I think he’s going to come on. But that’s what he can do. He can put a point on the board in a hurry.”
Said Granderson: "The majority of my career I’ve led off. Probably more than half of my professional at-bats, I think, have been at the top of the lineup. And for me it’s really only the beginning of the game where you’re in that spot.”
Granderson pulled even with Jose Reyes for the franchise record for leadoff homers at 16 apiece. Since the start of the 2014 season when he joined the Mets, Granderson has produced the most leadoff homers in the majors. Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon ranks second during that span with 14.
Granderson downplayed both accomplishments.
“As long as we continue to win ballgames and it helps us win ballgames, that’s going to be the big thing for me,” he said.
Ouch: Bartolo Colon carried a 2-0 lead into the seventh, when ex-Met Kirk Nieuwenhuis delivered a two-out double. Hernan Perez followed with a sharply hit grounder to second base. The ball bounced up on Neil Walker and struck him in the chest. Nieuwenhuis came around to score on what was ruled an infield single as the Brewers pulled within a run. Trainer Ray Ramirez checked on Walker, who stayed in at that point but departed for a pinch hitter in the ninth inning. Walker had committed three errors during the previous series in his native Pittsburgh.
The Mets answered in the eighth with a two-run single from Kevin Plawecki against Corey Knebel in the reliever’s return from a season-opening stint on the disabled list. Milwaukee pulled within 4-2 in the bottom half as Scooter Gennett delivered an RBI double against Addison Reed, whose scoreless streak was snapped at 15⅓ innings. Matt Reynolds, who replaced Walker, had an RBI single in the ninth.
Thumbs up: Juan Lagares entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning. It marked his first game action since partially tearing a ligament in his left thumb while making a diving catch last Saturday in Miami. Lagares led off the ninth and hustled into second base with a headfirst dive for a leadoff double.
What’s next: Matt Harvey, who has limited opponents to one run in 14 innings over his past two starts, looks to build on that success. Harvey (4-8, 4.95 ERA) opposes right-hander Junior Guerra (3-1, 3.61) on Friday at 8:10 p.m. ET.