Confidence in Alvy

Alvarez is scuffling.

The Mets backstop is riding the bench Wednesday in favor of Luis Torrens.

Without an off day this week, Green thought it best to sit Alvarez for the series finale with Baltimore, and although the catcher is 1-for-9 in this series and batting .148 (4-27) over his last seven games, the Mets still believe in him.

"He has so much talent. We are going to continue to believe in him. For the rest of this season, he will continue to have at-bats, opportunity to play," Green said of Alvarez. "We have faith and confidence the performance will reflect what it has for the majority of his career: someone who has a ton of pop, has had a ton of big swings.

"Just like A.J. Ewing did, went through a tough stretch, we expect him to rebound from that tough stretch. We have confidence in Alvy and will continue to cheer him on, have great at-bats and finish the season strong. He’s put in real work with the hitting coaches and no one wants it more than he does."

Alvarez's struggles go beyond the last week. Over his last 15 games, Alvarez is batting .176 (9-for-51) with two home runs and 22 strikeouts. The 24-year-old is slashing .228/.310/.392 with an OPS of .702 to go along with 15 home runs and 37 RBI across 106 games.

His 121 strikeouts are a career high, and if the season ended today, his SLG and OPS would be career lows.

Duarte's season over

The Mets placed Daniel Duarte on the 15-day IL with a left hamstring strain Wednesday. The right-hander suffered the injury trying to cover home plate in extra innings in Tuesday night's loss.

With the 15-day designation and not many games left, Duarte's season is officially over but Green praised the reliever's season.

"He’s had such a good season. He’s done so many good things," Green said. "It’s a tough loss; we don’t think it’s anything serious long term and he’ll ultimately be back. It’s a tough way for your season to come to a close. Just really impressed with the way he competed this year and a tough way to end the season."

Duarte made 24 appearances for the Mets this season, pitching to a 2.12 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP, and converting two saves in three opportunities.

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