Mets' Mark Vientos homers twice in 'sick' Subway Series win
The Mets’ Mark Vientos looks on from the dugout after his solo home run against the Yankees during the fourth inning of an MLB game at Citi Field on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
In his first chance at regular playing time for an extended period, Mark Vientos is running with it — or, rather, jogging around the bases with it.
He blasted two more home runs in the Mets’ 9-7 win over the Yankees on Tuesday night, a continuation of his hitting that has, at least for now, erased questions about the third-base situation. He is entrenched at the hot corner.
Both long balls came against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner. The first came in the bottom of the second, a no-doubter to leftfield. He repeated the feat in the fourth, smoking a line drive to right-centerfield, off the top of and then over the wall.
“Ah, man, it feels good to hit two off of Joe Schmo,” Vientos said. “But Gerrit Cole? I mean, great pitcher. Nothing but respect for him. Subway Series game — it’s sick to do it in this game, this environment.”
Including his 451-foot long ball — the deepest of his career — Sunday night at Wrigley Field, Vientos went deep in three consecutive at-bats.
His numbers are loud, especially for someone in the bottom half of the batting order: .297 average with a .925 OPS. His nine home runs are tied for fourth on the Mets, even though he has played in fewer than half of their games.
“We know every time he puts the barrel on the baseball, he can do some damage,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “The power is real.”
Mendoza praised Vientos for “thinking less,” keeping his swing short and not trying to do too much. As a young player eager to prove himself, particularly during his stretches of inconsistent playing time, Vientos previously sometimes appeared overeager at the plate, swinging too hard and whiffing too much.
Not so much these days. Vientos said keeping it simple only recently became a priority, after a relative and brief downturn earlier this month. He had a conversation over the weekend with Carlos Beltran, the former perennial All-Star who now works in the Mets’ front office, who dispensed related wisdom.
“[Mendoza is] 100% correct,” Vientos said. “When I get myself in trouble is when I try to do too much. Just thinking small and trying to simplify the game is the best for me.
“[Beltran and Vientos] sat down and we talked about it for a little bit. He’s like, hey, you should think center/right-center. I feel like that would simplify the game for you. I’ve been working on that in the cages and it’s been helping me.”
That approach seems to have paid immediate dividends. Of his three most recent homers, one was to center and one to right-center.
When Vientos shows up to work Wednesday for the Subway Series finale, he won’t have to wonder much about whether he is playing. That is a big — and welcomed — change from his earlier uncertain status.
“It gives you that confidence that the team believes in you and believes in your ability,” Vientos said. “It’s a good feeling to know that I’m going to be in there every day. That’s the type of player I am for sure.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
