Mets playoffs: Wilmer Flores lost 10 pounds due to strep throat

Terry Collins said on Wednesday that Wilmer Flores has lost 10 pounds over the last two weeks while dealing with strep throat. The middle infielder has felt under-the-weather since last week's penultimate series with the Philadelphia Phillies.

A healthy Flores would prove a valuable asset against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will start lefties Clayton Kershaw and Brett Anderson in Games 1 and 3, respectively. Although a far cry from prior outcomes, the 24-year-old righty had a .600 slugging percentage against southpaws this season.

Either way, Collins intends to start Ruben Tejada at shortstop on Friday night against Kershaw. His "good numbers" against the ace amount to 5-for-13, all singles, and three walks. Small sample sizes are essentially meaningless here, and his minus-15 Defensive Runs Saved tied him for last among all shortstops in 2015. There'd also be an argument for benching Daniel Murphy, who holds a career .674 OPS against lefties, but Collins will roll with all of his regular lefty hitters besides Michael Conforto.

In a season that will be partially remembered for the Carlos Gomez trade that wasn't, Flores, who remained a Met after that trade fell apart, hit .263/.295/.408 with 16 home runs and a 95 wRC+.