Jeff McNeil continued his torrid second half on Friday.
The Mets’ second baseman was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored in the Mets’ 7-3 win over the Marlins. He drove in his 12th home run of the season, a two-run home run in the fourth and had a double in the bottom of the fifth.
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The homer in particular was massive for McNeil and his fellow team. The longball gave the Mets a 3-2 lead over the Marlins and led to a six-run inning.
After a slow start to the season for McNeil, he has been consistent in coming up in big spots for the Mets and driving in runs when they need him to over the last couple months. Over his last 30 games, McNeil has driven in 19 RBIs and has 19 runs scored. Second half McNeil is lighting up opposing pitching and contributing to the Mets’ offense in big ways.
“I think he went back to some queues that he had when he was a batting champion,” Brandon Nimmo said on McNeil after the game. “I think he’s just getting a little more confidence, he’s had a few games with success and building on that and confidence can do a lot in this game.”
Whether it’s confident McNeil or happy McNeil, the Mets lineup can certainly use All-Star McNeil back. The former batting champ has flashed the bat in the past, and he was debatably the missing piece to an already stacked lineup this season.
And while McNeil’s slash line of .240/.296/.396, with a .692 OPS isn’t eye-popping, his post All-Star game stats have been more on par with his 2022 season. Coming into Friday’s matchup, McNeil was batting .310 batting average with 26 total hits, nine doubles, six home runs, 14 RBIs, and a .986 OPS.
Tonight, McNeil added his seventh homer of the second-half and two more hits to resume. The lefty has found his swing, which the Mets need the entire offense to consistently find as they look to make a run at playing in the postseason.
