It takes an exceptional day at the plate to raise an OPS 100 points this late into the season, and that’s exactly what Ronny Mauricio provided, helping the Mets complete the three-game sweep of the Giants and extend their winning streak to seven.
Mauricio’s four-hit game, including two doubles and a splashdown home run into McCovey Cove, turned his .660 OPS to .771, and was evidence of a dream becoming a reality in real time.
“He wanted to hit one in the water,” Juan Soto said, “He told me since the beginning.”
“It (feels) really, really good,” Mauricio said postgame, “Because I saw a couple home runs of Barry Bonds hitting them into the (water).”
Ronny Mauricio is 4-for-4 tonight; the first four-hit game of his career.
The exit velocities tonight:
– 95.2 mph (single)
– 101.8 mph (double)
– 104.7 mph (home run)
– 99 mph (double)Has his OPS up to .761. #LGM pic.twitter.com/W4PdVynevB
— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) July 28, 2025
With the trade deadline just a few days away, the spotlight is on Mauricio and the rest of the so-called “Baby Mets.” Underperformance this season from the likes of Francisco Alvarez, Luisangel Acuña, Brett Baty and Mark Vientosleft plenty of offense to be desired from the lower half of the Mets’ lineup.
David Stearns doubled down on his youngsters this past week, however, intimating that it would be tough to part with one or any of them in a trade deadline deal, and that the return would truly have to be massive. And since his words a week ago, their play has backed him up.
Alvarez returned from a stint in the minor leagues on July 21 and has a hit in all five starts, including four extra-base hits. Vientos has hits in nine of his last ten games, and had the two-RBI double that accounted for all of his team’s runs in a win on Saturday. Baty’s exploits have been going on for even longer, slashing .273/.339/.473 in July. And now Mauricio has officially joined the party, with his first signature game in a Mets uniform.
All three of Mauricio’s extra-base hits were scalded, with exit velocities between 99 and 105 mph. That’s nothing new for the Mets infielder, who has a hard-hit rate this year of 45.6%, a plus number in MLB. Being able to hold onto that percentage, while decreasing his strike-out percentage of 27.4%, will be what makes Mauricio a more polished, mature batter.
The good thing about young players is that there is more of a realistic expectation of growth. If the team’s youngsters can cohesively get better as the season’s games become more important, not only will their ceilings rise, but so will the team’s.
