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Why four hits couldn’t buy Mets’ Jeff McNeil a lineup spot

Jeff McNeil’s reward for his four-hit performance the previous day was a spot on the Mets bench Sunday.

With lefty Patrick Corbin pitching for the Nationals, manager Mickey Callaway opted to overload his starting lineup with right-handers, excluding McNeil. That meant J.D. Davis returning to third base with Keon Broxton in center field. Callaway said Sunday’s lineup was decided days in advance.

“Getting four hits [Saturday] is never an indicator of how a person is going to do today,” Callaway said before the Mets’ 6-5 loss to the Nationals. “That’s just how numbers work, and if he had been a righty he would have been playing.