Day 2 Mets Lineup Much Different than Opening Day

We are just two days into the season and already the Mets lineup has been shaken up — there will be three new starters for Wednesday night’s game against the Nationals.

Chris Young will be in left field for Andrew Brown. Young would have started on Monday but he strained a quad over the weekend. His quick return is a good sign; when these quad injuries are serious, it could take a month to recover.

Josh Satin gets the nod at first against the lefty Gio Gonzalez. Ike Davis started Opening Day against a righty. This will likely be the platoon until someone seizes the opportunity. Lucas Duda will probably see some time as well. One of Duda/Davis just has got to go.

Wilmer Flores will start at second base while Daniel Murphy is away on paternity leave. Mets Blog reports Murphy should be back with the team for Thursday’s game. Eric Young was the Opening Day starter at second, but he went 0-4 with four strikeouts. Also, Terry Collins said Young is 0-8 against Gonzalez.

There will also be a new closer, if the Mets get that far tonight. Jose Valverde is stepping in for Bobby Parnell, who is out at least two weeks, and possibly more, with a ligament tear in his elbow.

Bartolo Colon makes his Mets debut. Observers raved about him this spring; let’s see if he can carry it over to games that count.