Mets shake up lineup: Benge leading off; Lindor hitting 3rd

The Mets have crafted a new lineup in an effort to rouse their scuffling offense.

Rookie outfielder Carson Benge is batting leadoff for Friday's game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He hadn’t hit higher than sixth in the order in any of his first 16 MLB starts. Shortstop Francisco Lindor, who had been the club’s leadoff hitter in every other game this season, was moved down to third.

"I went [with Brett] Baty in the three hole the last game there, and I just thought today, with Benge’s skillset, the way he’s been putting together some at-bats as of late, trying to create some traffic for Francisco, that was all to it," manager Carlos Mendoza said.

The Mets have recorded a .175/.213/.257 slash line during their current eight-game losing streak. They have scored just 12 runs during that span. Their lineup is also missing infielder Jorge Polanco for the second straight game. Mendoza said Polanco is dealing with a right wrist issue on top of the left Achilles bursitis that has been nagging him all season long. Polanco underwent an MRI on his wrist Thursday, and the team is waiting to get the results back.

"It was just one of those where, not having Juan [Soto], not having Jorge, even JY [Jared Young], guys that have been hitting in the middle of our lineup," Mendoza said. "Just trying to put Lindor in there, create some traffic and go from there."

Lindor picked up his first home run (and RBI) of the season on Tuesday against the Dodgers, but he is batting just .184 with a .576 OPS through 19 games. Benge hasn’t done much either (.151 average, .463 OPS through 59 plate appearances), but Mendoza is hoping that pushing the Mets' top prospect to the top of the order against Cubs right-hander Edward Cabrera can snap the team’s slump.