Here are some notes from Mets manager Carlos Mendoza following this weekend's three-game sweep in Colorado…
Mauricio strong on both sides of ball
We knew what Ronny Mauricio was capable of offensively.
The young slugger had been tearing the cover off the ball since making his return to Triple-A — hitting an incredible .515 with a double, three homers, four stolen bases, eight RBI, and a 1.382 OPS in just nine games.
After a bit of a slow start at the plate, he’s carried that success over to the big-league level — reaching base seven times with a homer and a double during the three-game weekend series in Colorado.
But the skipper has also been impressed with what he’s seen defensively, as Mauricio has made three appearances at the hot corner and one at second base (and the most recent at DH) over his first five big-league appearances this season.
“He’s been really good,” Mendoza said. “A guy that came up as a shortstop, you know the actions and the hands are going to be there — but the arm has been pretty impressive too. He made a throw yesterday that I was like wow, looking at Sarbaugh it was like that kid’s special.
“There’s a lot of tools there and we’ve seen that overall. And it’s not easy because he missed a whole year last year and here we are asking him to play short, third, second — but the guys in the minors prepared him and he’s going a good job.”
Jeff McNeil on a tear
McNeil was square in the middle of Sunday's commanding victory as well, lifting two of the team's six homers on the afternoon to continue his red-hot stretch at the plate.
He also ripped a leadoff double in the top of the seventh, giving him a three-hit day.
The sweet-swinging lefty now has knocks in nine of his last 10 games and he's batting an impressive .324 with three doubles, four home runs, seven RBI, and a 1.096 OPS over that span.
He’s quickly lifted his OPS to a strong .888 over 33 games since returning from the IL.
"It's really good when he's driving the ball the ball like that," Mendoza said. "There's a lot of different versions of Jeff, but this version is the one that we're looking for and it's the one that he wants to be."
Acuña’s decreasing role
With the Mets receiving that type of production from McNeil, Brett Baty's hot stretch in May, and now Mauricio's arrival it's led to Luisangel Acuña seeing less and less playing time.
The 23-year-old also hasn't helped himself — hitting just .190 with one extra base-hit and a .235 on-base percentage in 63 at-bats since taking home NL Rookie of the Month honors in April.
Eight of those at-bats have come since the calendar flipped to June, and he has just one hit to show for it.
Still, the skipper says the team will continue to find ways to utilize his skillset and he expects he’ll be back in the lineup for Tuesday's series opener against Washington southpaw Mackenzie Gore.
“There’s a good chance we’ll see him against the lefty,” Mendoza said. “And we’ll continue to work the balance. What’s best for the team, what’s best for the player, his development — he continues to help us win baseball games, and we’ll continue putting him in positions.”
It'll be interesting to see how the Mets handle things moving forward with their infield/DH mix.
