3 Ian Kinsler 2B

Kinsler is not in the lineup Monday against the Mets.

Kinsler will retreat to the bench for Monday's series opener following a string of five straight starts during which he went 7-for-21 with a pair of homers, four RBI and five runs scored. Greg Garcia is starting at second base and hitting leadoff in his stead.

Kinsler went 3-for-6 with a solo home run, a pair of doubles, two RBI and three runs in the Padres' 11-2 victory over the Braves on Thursday.

Kinsler was back in the leadoff role, and he responded with his best game of the season, cranking his third homer of the year to go along with a pair of doubles. Kinsler now has five hits in his last nine at-bats, an encouraging sign that he's ready to get on track after a tough April that saw him hit well below the Mendoza Line.

Kinsler will start at second base and lead off in Thursday's game against the Braves.

With Greg Garcia and Wil Myers going a combined 1-for-9 out of the leadoff spot in the three games since Fernando Tatis went down with a hamstring injury, manager Andy Green will give Kinsler a spin in the table-setting role in the series finale. Given that Kinsler's previous struggles in that capacity prompted Green to turn to Tatis atop the order in the first place, it's difficult to bank on Kinsler sticking as the leadoff man for long. Before busting out for two base hits in Wednesday's loss, Kinser had gone 3-for-37 over his previous 14 games.

Kinsler went 2-for-3 in San Diego's 5-1 loss to the Braves on Wednesday.

Kinsler has been a season-long slump so far in 2019, but he finally managed his first multi-hit game of the season with a pair of knocks in a losing effort against Atlanta. Still, his slash line sits at a brutal .151/.223/.256 over 86 at-bats, so the veteran would likely need to rip off a sustained hot streak to regain the everyday playing time near the top of the order he was expected to garner going into the season.

Kinsler is not starting Tuesday against Arizona.

Kinsler is hitting .134 on the season and has been trending in the wrong direction, hitting an even worse .083 over his last 13 games. He finds himself on the bench in favor of Greg Garcia for the second time in three games.