Mark Vientos slashed .057/.108/.171 with one home run and two RBI across 11 spring training games in February and March, but the Mets‘ 26-year-old corner infielder and designated hitter has been a different player since the calendar flipped to April.
He extended his hitting streak to four games with three knocks in Saturday’s 9-0 win at the San Francisco Giants, continuing momentum from a two-hit, two-walk performance that sparked Friday’s 10-3 victory.
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“I feel like myself,” Vientos said. “I feel good. I think the best part is just guys are going, had good day, all of us together. Clay (Holmes) pitched a heck of a game, and it was fun — it was fun today.”
Vientos had one hit in three at-bats across the Mets’ March 28 and 31 games against the Pittsburgh Pirates and at the St. Louis Cardinals, respectively, before a 7-for-14 start to this month.
“It’s good to see it,” Mendoza said. “It’s good to see it, especially after what he went through in spring training. We kept telling him, ‘It’s spring training. Keep hitting the ball hard. Keep controlling the strike zone.’ As a human, as a competitor, they want to see results. It’s just good to see him having the start he’s having right now.
“He’s a pretty important player for us. We’re going to need him. If we can get some confidence early on, man, he’s going to be an impactful player for us.”
Batting fifth and starting at first base in a lineup that was without Juan Soto, whose day-to-day status leaves the Mets (5-4) relying on others to step up, Vientos sparked New York’s pivotal second and fifth innings against the Giants (3-6).
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The Mets’ three-run second started when Vientos picked up Brett Baty‘s leadoff strikeout with a double to left field. Three frames later, Vientos’ two-out single to right field scored Bo Bichette and padded the Mets’ 5-0 lead before Tyrone Taylor‘s pinch-hit home run blew the doors open at 8-0.
“When you see him challenging pitches like that — from the dugout, they look pretty close,” Mendoza said of Vientos. “And then you look up on the board, it’s like, ‘Mark is seeing the ball really well here out of the hand.’
“What it follows is he’s not missing pitches and he’s recognizing, he’s staying in the zone and not trying to do too much — going the other way when he needs to, getting the head out when he needs to — so he’s in a good place right now.”
Vientos, who hit his first home run of the early season in Thursday’s 7-2 loss to the Giants, is slashing .471/.526/.765 with three RBI and two walks through six
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“I’m focused on the process and focused on having good at-bats and letting the rest fall into place,” Vientos said.
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