Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic <\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 It took almost a month into the season, but manager Carlos Mendoza finally got to fill out a batting order Friday that included everybody from the projected Opening Day lineup.<\/p>\n
The return of Francisco Alvarez and Jeff McNeil from the injured list gave the Mets a new look as they opened a four-game series against the Nationals, albeit unsuccessfully with a 5-4 loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing into this year, [Alvarez and McNeil] were going to be a big part of this team and this lineup,\u201d Mendoza said at Nationals Park. \u201cHere they are, healthy and ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alvarez, who went 1-for-4 with a strikeout Friday, was rehabbing from surgery to remove a broken hamate bone in his left hand. He will return to primary catching duties, but Mendoza expects to find opportunities for Luis Torrens, who shined as the starter in Alvarez\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n
McNeil, who also went 1-for-4, will play second base and outfield (possibly with some of that action in center), displacing rookie Luisangel Acu\u00f1a from regular playing time. Acu\u00f1a has been a bright spot for the Mets offensively, defensively and on the bases.<\/p>\n
Mendoza was asked if he was concerned about disrupting the chemistry \u2014 the Mets are a major league-best 18-8 \u2014 by inserting two new names into the lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are a big part of this team, even when they weren\u2019t playing they were around,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cAnd last year they were a big part of this team. That\u2019s what it\u2019s going to take \u2014 it\u2019s going to take more than 26 guys and here we are getting two of the bigger pieces [back]. That\u2019s a good group in that clubhouse and they will fit right in.\u201d<\/p>\n
McNeil, who strained an oblique in spring training, was set to play his first regular season game since Sept. 6 of last season. <\/p>\n
He missed most of the final month last year rehabbing from a broken wrist after he was hit by a pitch. McNeil returned for the NLCS against the Dodgers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like Opening Day for me,\u201d McNeil said. \u201cWe\u2019re playing well, and I am just going to do what I can to help these guys win.\u201d<\/p>\n
That potentially includes playing center field \u2014 a position at which he was utilized during his minor league rehab assignment. Tyrone Taylor has been playing center every day for the Mets with Jose Siri sidelined by a broken left tibia, but Mendoza is looking to get others involved. <\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoyed it,\u201d McNeil said, when asked about playing center on his rehab assignment. \u201cI take a lot of pride in playing a lot of positions and being very versatile. Wherever the team needs me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alvarez was working on a new swing in spring training, but the Mets received only a small sample size of it in exhibition games before his injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was doing my rehab I was working a lot on my swing to try to feel right,\u201d Alvarez said through an interpreter. \u201cWhen I wasn\u2019t swinging I was working a lot on my mentality, on what I wanted to do. And right now I feel really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mendoza said his goal is to also keep Torrens as involved as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are both going to play,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201c[Torrens] played real well for us and he earned that opportunity. We are getting Alvy back and he\u2019s going to get an opportunity as well. I think that\u2019s a good problem to have, but I could see both of them playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mendoza also anticipates finding spots for Acu\u00f1a to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll find ways to keep Acu\u00f1a sharp and get him some at-bats,\u201d Mendoza said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic WASHINGTON \u2014 It took almost a month into the season, but manager Carlos Mendoza finally got to fill out a batting order Friday that included everybody from the projected Opening Day lineup. The return of Francisco Alvarez and Jeff McNeil from the injured list<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":291566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-291565","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":291567,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291565\/revisions\/291567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}