The New York Mets will have Michael Conforto as their designated hitter for Game 2 of the World Series Wednesday with Juan Lagares patrolling center field.
Conforto will hit out of the seventh spot in the order with Lagares ninth. Yoenis Cespedes slides back over to left field while Michael Cuddyer takes a seat on the bench.
Royals starter Johnny Cueto has shown reverse splits throughout the year with a 4.14 xFIP against righties compared to 3.41 against lefties. For this reason, it may be a bit surprising that the team chose to deploy Conforto over Cuddyer. At the same time, it's difficult to keep Conforto out of the lineup too long after posting a 40.9 hard-hit rate in the regular season, even if he is mired in an 0-for-16 slump.
Source: Adam Rubin, ESPN