WASHINGTON — Mark Vientos was back in the lineup for the third straight day, facing the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night as the designated hitter. After receiving sparse playing time throughout most of the month, the Mets are riding the hot hand with Vientos , who has gone 3-for-7 with home runs in the last two games.

“We need him,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday at Nationals Park. “He’s a really good player that pretty much carried us last year too, and was an important part of this team. It’s been hard for him, but the signs that we’ve seen the past week or so, that’s the guy that we saw last year, and we’re going to need him.”

It’s the conventional way to draw up a lineup, but the Mets have bucked convention this season by rotating three young infielders in and out o

See Full Page