KANSAS CITY — Just when it looked like the Mets’ offense had run dry, a scuffling hitter came through when his team needed it the most.
Mark Vientos hit a go-ahead three-run double off closer Kansas City Royals closer Carlos Estevez in the top of the eighth inning Friday night at Kauffman Stadium, helping the Mets to a 7-3 win in the series opener. It was a hit he badly needed.
“It was huge for us and it was huge for him too,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “He’s a good hitter and we’re going to need him.”
Vientos has had a tough time following up on last year’s 27-homer campaign. The league has adjusted to the 25-year-old and he’s struggled with his swing, often mistiming fastballs. He came into the game hitting just .213. And in nine games since coming off the injured list, Vientos has hit just .133 with a double and struck out nine times.
However, there was progress this week. There were good swings, hard-hit balls and a 2-for-3 performance off the bench in place of the injured Jesse Winker on Thursday in the first game of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles.
“I’ve been making a lot of strides in the right direction, and I’m excited for more to come,” Vientos said. “I think I’m just driving the baseball. I think I’m hitting it hard, and that’s just been my plan in the cage, is just trying to get back to driving the baseball. Doing what I do.”
The Mets (54-41) haven’t made things easy on themselves offensively over the last few weeks, and one day after being swept in a doubleheader in Baltimore, the Royals (46-49) kept the Mets to only one run over the first seven innings — a bases-loaded walk drawn by Pete Alonso in the top of the third.
Vientos, hitting fifth after Alonso, had a chance to extend the lead and give Kodai Senga some support in his first start since injuring a hamstring a month ago. But right-hander Michael Wacha struck him out on three straight pitches to leave the bases loaded.
The Mets struggled with Wacha’s changeup. The veteran right-hander retired the next seven hitters to finish his outing, holding the Mets to only one run in five innings.
“Typical Michael Wacha,” Mendoza said. “He’s got a really good changeup that plays not only against lefties, but against righties, and throws the fastball at the top of the zone in the mid-90s. But I think it’s just that changeup, and the way he uses all of his pitches to go with it.”
It wasn’t until the seventh inning before the Mets even had another baserunner. With the game tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Huascar Brazobán gave up a two-run blast to Bobby Witt Jr., and the Royals took a 3-1 lead.
Finally, the Mets put traffic on the bases in the eighth, loading the bases on Estevez, the All-Star closer. He struck out Alonso for the first out, frustrating the first baseman so much that he snapped his bat over his leg. That brought up Vientos, who was 0-for his last 7 with four strikeouts.
Estevez gave Vientos plenty of chances to see his slider, throwing four of them in a five-pitch at-bat. On 2-2, the right-hander threw a third straight slider, this one harder than the rest at 91 mph. Vientos drove it the other way, sending a double to the gap in right-center field. Third base coach Mike Sarbaugh frantically waved around Francisco Lindor from second base and Juan Soto from first, who had a fantastic slide right around catcher Salvador Perez at home to take a 4-3.
“He fought that at-bat,” Mendoza said. “Then still being able to be on time, and was able to get the barrel on that ball and use the whole field. When he’s doing that, that’s a really good time for Mark.”
The Mets then piled on in the top of the ninth against right-hander Taylor Clarke. Lindor and Soto hit back-to-back homers, with Lindor’s going for three runs. With one out, Vientos hit a single to right to finish a 2-for-5 night.
Senga worked around a two-on, none-out jam in the first inning, going on to throw four scoreless innings. Given the injury and the All-Star break coming Monday, the Mets had him on a pitch count, not wanting him to go over 70. After battling nerves in the first inning, he struck out four and managed to get outs when needed.
“I was a little bit nervous getting back out on the mound, my first time in a little bit, and when those two runners got on really early, I thought to myself, ‘This is not a good look,’” Senga said through translator Hiro Fujiwara. “Somehow I was able to get out of there. I was really relieved.”
The Mets are just as relieved to see their ace healthy and a young hitter driving the ball once again.
