Harrison Bader was out of the lineup for the third straight night Friday when the Mets played the second game of a four-game set against the Atlanta Braves. The center fielder is still nursing a sore ankle, but if he had his way, he would be playing. “I just slipped on the dirt a little bit on that base stealing attempt. I got picked off and kind of jolted the capsule a little bit,” Bader said Friday at Citi Field. “Listen, I put myself in a position where it was just a little challenging these past couple days to be myself for this team, and be super efficient. So just working through it and everything feels great.” The injury occurred Monday during a Subway Series game. The next night, he left Yankee Stadium in a walking boot, but the boot was short-lived. The outfielder was able to play catch on the field and go through his pregame routine Thursday. However, the Mets did not use him off the bench. He’s hoping to be used this weekend. “Nothing serious, just going to go out there today and take some reps and see where we’re at,” Bader said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to be on the field soon enough, but that’s kind of at the discretion of the training staff and from Mendoza, and what they see for me today on the field. I anticipate turning the corner very quickly with this thing.” Imaging came back clean with no structural damage detected. At the moment, Bader doesn’t think an injured list stint will be necessary. But should the injury linger into the weekend, the Mets might have no choice but to place him on the IL to prevent them from playing shorthanded in a crucial series against the Atlanta Braves. However, the Mets do currently have a good amount of outfield depth on the roster with Tyrone Taylor and Ben Gamel. Plus, the Mets can also use DH DJ Stewart in the outfield and infielder Jeff McNeil. The goal is to prevent any further damage. With the Mets in the driver’s seat in the Wild Card race and Bader enjoying the healthiest year of his career, Bader is eager to help the team. “I think at this point in the season, I don’t know if you ever really feel 100%,” he said. “I think that you should feel 100% confident in where you’re at physically, but what that percentage looks like physically changes day to day at this point in the season. Approaching August, and where I’m at now, I feel confident — very, very confident — with where I’m at physically.”