Ryan O’Hearn has cooled considerably.

A day after sitting against a left-hander, O’Hearn is back in the lineup as the Padres look to secure the series against the Mets at Citi Field.

Thursday’s first pitch is at 10:10 a.m. on Padres.TV.

An All-Star with the Orioles, O’Hearn is hitting .228/.313/.331 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 40 games since the trade to the Padres.

O’Hearn was hitting .271/.366/.406 through his first 31 games with the Padres, but he is 3-for-31 over his last nine games (.222 OPS) and hitless in his last three games.

This is the first season that O’Hearn has ever had more than 500 plate appearances. He is sitting on a career-high 16 homers and is six RBIs shy of matching that personal best.

O’Hearn will play first base and hit seventh in a new-look lineup that will see Jackson Merrill return to the clean-up spot for the first time since Aug. 18 as the Padres look to capitalize on his uptick.

The 22-year-old Merrill is hitting .341/.370/.841 with five homers and 10 RBIs over his last 11 games.

Left fielder Ramón Laureano will follow in the five-spot, followed by designated hitter Gavin Sheets, who had been the clean-up hitter the previous nine games and is 3-for-29 (.413 OPS) over his last eight games.

Here is how the Mets will line up for the rubber match:

https://x.com/Mets/status/1968682696348999723

 

Thursday’s pitching matchup

Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (5-6, 3.72 ERA)

He’s thrown a career-high 123⅓ innings, which includes allowing two earned runs over 12 innings over two starts since returning from the minors. Both starts were wins over the Orioles. This will be Vásquez’s first start against the Mets.

Here is how he’s fared against current Mets:

  • OF Cedric Mullins (0-for-2, 2 Ks)
  • OF Juan Soto (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBIs, K)
  • OF Jose Siri (0-for-3, 2 Ks)

Mets RHP Jonah Tong (1-2, 8.49 ERA)

The 22-year-old is ranked No. 4 in the Mets farm system as ranked by MLB.com. He allowed six runs in two-thirds of an inning in his last start against the Rangers and has a 13-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 11⅔ innings. Tong began the year with a 1.43 ERA in 113⅔ innings while rising from Double-A Binghamton to Triple-A Syracuse.