Marcus Semien singled on the first pitch he saw in the second inning. He doubled on Michael Lorenzen‘s second offering to him in the fourth. He singled on the first pitch in the sixth.
In the ninth, with the Mets up 8-4, he drove a 3-1 pitch 395 feet to left (exit velocity 100.8 mph) for a two-run homer. It all added up to the first four-hit game for a Met this year. He scored three runs, too.
“He was aggressive early in the zone,” Carlos Mendoza told reporters after the 10-5 victory in Denver, where the grounds crew cleared snow before the game and the 11,155 in attendance dealt with a temperature that fell into the mid-30s. “He was short to the ball. He was able to use the whole field. He drove the ball, especially that homer to the pull side that last at-bat. That’s a really good sign.
“I’ve seen this guy play for a long time. When he’s going well, he’s doing that. He’s an aggressive hitter. He’s going to attack pitches. It was good to see him have results. It’s been a tough stretch for him. But the guy is as consistent as anyone in there. He works extremely hard and I’m glad that he finally had a really good game for us.”
Semien’s batting average jumped 23 points with the big night, and he’s slashing .231/.279/.323 for the season.
“Just trying to stay locked in,” he said. “Keep it simple, really. If they throw the ball down the middle, keep it simple and just keep working on what I’m working on in the cage and get my swing going.”
The 35-year-old, two-time Gold Glove winner also made a nice play to field a tough hop behind second base on a ball that caromed off the pitcher’s mound in the fourth inning with runners on first and second and one out. He flipped to Bo Bichette for the force out. The next batter, Jake McCarthy, lined out to left, and Freddy Peralta escaped the inning unharmed.
The Mets (14-22) have won three in a row and four of five after losing 17 of 20.
“They’re playing the game the way they’re capable,” Mendoza said. “There’s a lot of smiles on their faces.. It’s just good to see them having fun.”
