Carlos Mendoza has unfortunately had a lot of practice in answering questions about one of his player's struggles at the plate during his first year as the Mets' manager. And the skipper has often deployed a familiar answer, saying something along the lines of: He’s too good of a player to struggle like this for too long.
And for Mendoza, that answer is starting to look pretty spot on. In the last 30 days, his club leads the majors in OPS (.781), is third in slugging percentage (.448), third in on-base percentage (.333), fifth in average (.261), and in the top 10 in hits, doubles, triples, home runs , and RBI.
And after an 11-4 stretch, the Mets (33-37) are inching back into contention.
What’s the reason for the turnaround? Francisco Lindor said they are "bouncing ideas from each other and we sticking to a plan."
"We go out there and we have a plan. We have a purpose. Our intent usually follows the plan that we have. We’re playing well," the shortstop, who homered on Sunday, added.
While the trio of Lindor (batting .284 with an .857 OPS in his last 26 games), J.D. Martinez (.281, .930 OPS in his last 24 games)and Starling Marte (.348, .995 OPS in his last 22 games) have powered the Mets during this recent run, Mendoza has "felt like there were other couple of guys that were getting close" in recent weeks.
Two of those players stepped up in Sunday's 11-6 win over the San Diego Padres: Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso.
"To have Pete have a game like that, and in the first inning have a three-run homer against a pretty good arm. Nimmo today, another three hits," the manager said. "We’re gonna need all of ‘em. And when they all get going, it’s gonna be special."
Nimmo entered the weekend in a 13-for-62 (.209) funk and frustrated by an inconsistent time at the plate. He then went 7-for-13 with four RBI. Alonso got his 15th home run and five RBI to give him 37 on the year as he looks to break out of a power shortage.
"When everyone’s hitting on all cylinders like today, it’s really fun as an offense," Alonso said after every starter got a hit and six contributed an RBI in the win. "I thought we had great at-bats all up and down the lineup today. Did a great job of capitalizing on pitches in the zone and laying off some tough ones. I thought we did a great job with our execution."
But it is hard to overlook the contribution of Martinez, who added two hits and two walks on Sunday, to finish the three-game set 6-for-9 with two homers and six RBI.
"What he was able to do was really special," Alonso said. "Not just driving pitches, but it’s the pitches that he doesn’t swing at – the tough pitchers' pitches that he just takes that are balls and drives the balls to the big part of the field. It was a clinic he put on this homestand."
Mendoza said it was "pretty impressive" to watch the 36-year-old come to life, as he's posted a 1.027 OPS in his last 12 games and had a run of reaching base in 10 consecutive plate appearances during the weekend.
"He wasn’t getting any cheap hits, he’s driving the ball. And then he’s laying off some tough pitches, he’s walking. ... he’s passing the baton if they don’t want to pitch to him. And that’s what good hitters do," the manager said. "Impressive, but that’s what special hitters do. To see him get hot like that, he can carry a team.
"And now, with some of the other guys getting there, special."
In addition to the barrage of hits in the series – 28 over the three games – they have been timely, giving the Mets’ pitching staff and bullpen, which had been relied upon to keep them in games for most of the year, a bit of breathing room.
On Sunday it was the bullpen that needed to be carried after the Padres cut a five-run deficit entering the top half of the eighth to a single run. But the Mets rallied for four runs to make the ninth a much less nervy proposition.
"It’s always nice putting up runs on the board, not just [for] the pitching staff, everybody collectively as a group where you can take a nice breath," Alonso said. "I thought that we did a great job of responding when they put runs up on the board in the eighth. I thought that was a huge statement [for] us as an offense collectively staying locked in."
"They helped us out a lot," Lindor said of the pitching staff. "About time we start doing what we do to help them not come in every inning – it seemed like it was [always] a high leverage situation for them. To be able to score a lot of runs feels good."
For Jeff McNeil, who has struggled throughout the season and particularly of late leading to a brief spell on the bench, there were signs of progress, including an eighth-inning double that helped add some appreciated tack-on runs.
Mendoza praised the veteran for "thinking two out of the box," but said it was McNeil's at-bat in the fifth inning against left-hander Yuki Matsui, which ended with a flyout on the 10th pitch, as one that deserved mention for being "a really good at-bat."
"The swings were more direct with conviction, balance, foul off a lot of pitches," he said. "Didn’t get the results, but I thought that at-bat was a really good sign. And then for him to hit that double, and he continues to play a helluva second base. He continues to make plays, he’s engaged, so, he’s getting there."
The manager didn’t say it about McNeil this time, but he could have: He’s too good a hitter…
