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With one swing, Francisco Alvarez won a game Monday night.
The Mets are hoping it becomes more than that for the young catcher.
Perhaps, it could spark him out of a lengthy slump that has at least in part played a role in the Mets’ inconsistent offense of late.
“We hope a swing like [that] can get him going here finally, because we know what he can do when he’s on, when he gets hot,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before the Mets and Orioles met at Citi Field on Tuesday night. “There’s a lot to like — the impact, the homers obviously, some good at-bats, some clutch hits. We’re hoping a game like last night can get him on the right track.”
It has been a strange season for the 22-year-old Alvarez, who has a .728 OPS on the season, but only six home runs and 28 RBIs.
He was starting to hit when he suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb on April 19, landing him on the shelf for seven weeks.
Upon returning, he was an offensive force. He produced a 1.125 OPS in 15 June games.
Alvarez hit safely in 11 of those contests, producing eight extra-base hits. The Mets went 11-4 in that span. It wasn’t a coincidence.
But he has since struggled mightily. The 421-foot, walk-off homer was his first home run since July 26. It was only his second extra-base hit this month in 44 at-bats.
Since July 3, Alvarez is hitting .202/.266/.298 with an anemic .564 OPS in 104 at-bats. That’s 33 games and 27 starts of little productivity.
Through it all, his teammates haven’t noticed anything different about him. Same upbeat guy, same energetic personality, same smile greeting people.
Of course, he would like to be hitting more, but he hasn’t let his problems at the plate impact him otherwise.
It showed on Monday night.
Most hitters engulfed in a major slump wouldn’t have the confidence to swing 3-0 in a tie game. They would most likely be looking for a walk.
Not Alvarez. He swung and produced the biggest hit of his young career, becoming the third-youngest Met to hit a walk-off homer after Lee Mazzilli and Ron Swoboda, according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs.
“He’s just looking at it as another opportunity to do something great,” Brandon Nimmo said. He added: “We need him to be his best and be the best for this team because his energy is intoxicating. Everybody saw what happened after that hit. That’s just him. He loves those moments, he loves the game. … Moments like that are just so huge for confidence.”
In his brief big league career, Alvarez has been streaky. This year is a pretty good example of that.
The Mets would love to see him get hot for the stretch run. Maybe Monday night was a start to that.
“He’s been putting a lot of work in, he’s been grinding, he’s been focused on how to get better and he takes a lot of things to heart,” Francisco Lindor said. “Whenever he can help us win like that, it’s huge.”
