Collins’ hunch pays off as rookie Rivera rakes

WASHINGTON — Every afternoon when T.J. Rivera arrives at the ballpark, the first thing he does is check the lineup card. Most days, buried three-deep on the depth chart at multiple positions, he is not likely to play. But he scans the card anyway, mentally preparing to see his name printed in small black block letters.

Tuesday, with Wilmer Flores nursing a neck injury, the left-handed-hitting Kelly Johnson seemed most likely to man second base for the Mets. Yet Mets manager Terry Collins, intrigued by Rivera’s strong at-bat Saturday in Atlanta, decided to play a hunch: Rather than stack Johnson among four lefties in the middle of his lineup, he played the right-handed Rivera against Nationals starter A.J. Cole.

The result was what, three weeks from now, could turn out to be a seminal win for the Mets. Rivera’s home run in the 10th inning lifted them to a 4-3 victory over the Nationals, capping his 3-for-4 night with a career-high three RBIs.

“I was super excited going around the bases,” Rivera said, laughing. “It’s my first big league home run. It was a nice moment to have, which is pretty cool. But I was trying to keep my cool.”

That much lasted only a few minutes. After the Mets recorded three harrowing outs in the bottom of the 10th to seal their victory, Rivera lingered on the field to conduct a postgame television interview. He then walked back into the dugout and up a long flight of stairs to the clubhouse, where teammates had …

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