Jeff McNeil entered Tuesdays Subway Series opener at Citi Field hitle s in his previous 15 at-bats, another bad stretch in whats been a horrendous Ryan Thompson Jersey season. But manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday that he liked what he saw from McNeils at-bats in , where McNeil failed to pick up a hit again. He was better Sunday, Mendoza said. He hit three bullets. To Mendozas point, McNeil lined out three times, once at 105 mph, a second at 99 mph and a third at 91. Hes hitting line drives right at people, Mendoza said. Its hard for him because hes not getting results, but his at-bats have been better. Carlos Mendoza believes Jeff McNeils at-bats have improved over slump. Jason Szenes / New York Post Still, McNeil has been one of the few Mets hitters who has not seen an improvement in production this month. He also sat four straight games, all versus lefties, before he returned to the lineup against a right-hander when the Mets faced the Phillies in London. He responded in that game with a pair of hits, but entered Tuesday in another funk, this one 3-for-36 (.083) with one extra-base hit, two walks and six strikeouts. Explore More Mendoza said McNeil could be in the mix to fill in for the injured Starling Marte in right field, with Marte expected to be out at least a month with a Thats in play, Mendoza said. Complicating things for McNeil has been the emergence of Jose Iglesias, who wasnt in Tuesdays lineup. Mets Jeff McNeil (1) goes to the dugout after striking out against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning of a baseball game. AP With Iglesias playing the way hes playing, it will be matchup-based and day-by-day, Mendoza said. I wont hesitate to put McNeil in right field. Including Tuesday, McNeil has started 66 games at second and just six in the outfield, all in left. Delivering insights on all things Amazins Sign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Puma, exclusively on Sports+ Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! McNeils presence in the lineup, anywhere, will be hard to justify if he doesnt break out of this slump. Entering Tuesday, only Torontos George Springer had a lower OPS among qualified hitters than McNeils .572. Its part of whats been a steady decline the past two seasons for McNeil, who was the batting champ and had an OPS of .836 in 2022. Mendoza, in his first year in the Mets dugout, has steadfastly stood behind McNeil, but Iglesias has even hit right-handers better than McNeil, while pummeling lefty pitching. Josh Bell Jersey