WASHINGTON — Travis d’Arnaud’s grip on the Mets’ starting catching job could be slipping.
Normally, manager Terry Collins would have inserted d’Arnaud behind the plate Wednesday — a day game following a night game, after Rene Rivera started Tuesday — but the manager went a different direction: Rivera returned to the lineup, with d’Arnaud on the bench.
Rivera finished 0-for-2 with a walk in the Mets’ 1-0 loss to the Nationals.
“You play the hot hand,” Collins said, noting Rivera’s superior numbers against Tanner Roark. “We’re in a situation now where we’ve got to go with, at this time last year or maybe a little earlier, hey look: The guys that are producing runs are the guys who are going to get in there.