Mets’ A.J. Ewing continues to step up against lefties: ‘Always been comfortable’

ATLANTA — A.J. Ewing is not deterred by left-handed pitching.

The rookie homered and singled — both against lefties — to finish 2-for-4 in the Mets’ 10-9 victory over the Braves on Sunday. It marked the second time Ewing had multiple hits against left-handers in a game this season.

Ewing launched a Martín Pérez sinker for a homer leading off the third inning. The blast, which cleared the center field fence, was the first of his career that he did not pull. Ewing has five homers.

“I think I have always been comfortable against lefties,” he said.

Ewing and Carson Benge, the two rookies in the lineup, have been success stories in a dreary season for the Mets. The 21-year-old Ewing boosted his OPS to .756 with his latest performance.

“I think we have believed he’s going to hit lefties in the long run, and it’s good to see him doing it,” interim manager Andy Green said.

New York Mets center fielder A.J. Ewing (9) reacts after hitting a home run against the Atlanta Braves during the second inning at Truist Park. Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Francisco Lindor is expected to either DH or receive a day off Monday as the team continues to monitor his workload following his return from a calf strain.

“Hopefully, it’s the DH because we love having his bat in the lineup,” Green said. “But certainly, we like paying attention to his workload every day. It’s something we talked about [Saturday], and he felt good to go — it puts a good lineup on the field for us, having him at shortstop. He was on the bases quite a bit [Saturday], so it’s good to see him playing well and recovering.”

Green indicated he likely will deploy Kodai Senga behind an opener for Tuesday’s game against the Royals at Citi Field. Senga pitched 2 ²/₃ innings in relief Friday, allowing one earned run. In his other relief appearance since his displacement from the starting rotation, he allowed two earned runs over five innings against the Phillies.

Juan Soto has reached base in 18 of his past 21 games since June 11 and ranks second in MLB among qualifiers in on-base percentage (.500) during that stretch. He’s third in OPS (1.171) and fifth in batting average (.371). Overall, he leads the NL with a .966 OPS.