It’s no secret that Lucas Duda is struggling at the plate. Instead of sticking with him, like the Mets have with David Wright, the team is actively considering benching Duda in favor of Kelly Johnson against righties. I’m baffled. 

Yes, Duda hasn’t been good, but neither has Johnson. He’s gone 1-4 with two strikeouts in his pinch hitting attempts with two strikeouts. His career triple slash line in the postseason is .182/.250/.364 with no RBIs. I know Duda hasn’t been great, but it’s not like Johnson is even a good option. 

Furthermore, let’s look at Johnson’s numbers against the Cubs starters:

Jon Lester 1-15 with one RBI, two walks, and four strikeouts. 
Jake Arrieta 0-6 with three walks and four strikeouts. 
Kyle Hendricks 1-2 with one RBI and one strikeout
Jason Hammel 9-30 with one double, two homeruns, six RBIs, one walk, and 10 strikeouts. 
Looking over these numbers, you can only justify starting him against Hammel. I’m discounting the Hendricks stats to an extent because it’s only been three plate appearances. Besides Hammel, Johnson has no place in the starting lineup. He isn’t the hitter Duda is, and he’s historically been a poor postseason performer.

The Mets need to get Duda going. With the weather blowing out in Wrigley Field, it should be ripe for Duda to breakout. He better because Kelly Johnson isn’t the answer.