The Ronny Mauricio show continued Saturday in the Mets’ 3-2 loss to the Reds.

The rookie, in the lineup against a lefty starter for just the third time since he was called up from Triple-A Syracuse, delivered two more hits off Andrew Abbott.

Mauricio also made a diving play to his left at third base in just his second game at the position since being called up at the beginning of the month.

“He’s made some plays not every third baseman can make because of his arm strength,’’ manager Buck Showalter said. “I think he’s capable of representing himself well at all three [positions] in the infield.”

So far, Mauricio has shown promise at second and third after coming up through the minors as a shortstop.

His inexperience at playing third base showed in the second inning, though.

He wasn’t covering the bag as Francisco Alvarez made an ill-advised throw to try to pick off TJ Friedl at third.

The ball went into left field on Alvarez’s throwing error, which led to an unearned run.

Showalter said Brett Baty, who is out with a groin injury, could return to third base by Monday.

Mauricio will continue to split time at second and third, and potentially give Francisco Lindor a day off at short.

“It allows us to look at different combinations,’’ Showalter said of Mauricio’s versatility.

Mauricio had gotten off to a rough start batting right-handed.

He entered Saturday with just a .282 OPS in 11 plate appearances versus lefties, compared to .904 in 31 plate appearances as a lefty hitter against righties.

The disparity was not nearly as stark for Mauricio in the minors this season.

When he was called up by the Mets at the beginning of September, Mauricio had an .873 OPS as a lefty and a .743 OPS while right-handed.

In the bottom of the first Saturday, Mauricio’s RBI single to left-center gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. He also reached on an infield hit to shortstop in the third inning, then stole second base.

The Mets don’t have much to play for these days, but they provided some drama in the bottom of the ninth inning before coming up short when Pete Alonso grounded out with two runners on to end the game.

The Mets didn’t have a hit after Alvarez’s RBI double in the fourth until Daniel Vogelbach’s pinch-hit single with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

Brandon Nimmo followed with a fly out before Alvarez singled to left to bring Alonso to the plate.

“I love that [Alvarez] hasn’t given in,’’ Showalter said of the catcher. “He likes the moment and is not gonna run from it.

Nimmo was back in center field on Saturday after he had started two of the previous three games in left.

Asked if there was any thought of moving Nimmo to left more often in the final weeks of the season, Showalter said, “No, he’s our center fielder.”

Nimmo played several games in left field last month when he was bothered by a quad injury. This time, Showalter said he was giving Nimmo a chance at a bit of rest.

“We’re just trying to give a blow with less room to cover [in left],’’ Showalter said. “I talked to him. It’s nothing for down the road.”

The occasional switch is an attempt to “keep him on the field and make use of him,” Showalter said.
With the Mets attempting to play spoiler in the NL wild-card race, Showalter said: “Teams that are competing against Arizona [the Mets’ previous opponent, also battling for a postseason spot] are happy. It’s either [left] or not play.”

Nimmo has had a bit of an uneven season defensively in center, according to most advanced metrics, with a -4.8 UZR, which is the worst of his career, and significantly worse than any of his other seasons besides the 2020 shortened season, according to FanGraphs.

And his Outs Above Average, according to Baseball Savant, is just 1, which is on the lower end of the spectrum.

Showalter focused on the other part of Alonso’s game on Saturday, saying the first baseman has “got a chance” to win a Gold Glove at the position.

He noted that Alonso had the second-best ranking among first basemen, according to some metrics.

According to most of the publicly available defensive metrics, however, any shot Alonso has is slim at best.

He comes in fourth in the NL among first basemen at Defensive Runs Saved with 5, but his Outs Above Average, according to Baseball Savant, is just 1.

Showalter said there is a schedule that would make it possible for Starling Marte to return to game action this season, provided the outfielder doesn’t suffer any setbacks.