Asdrubal Cabrera once again delivered big time for the Mets last night, as he went 2-4 with a walk, double, and the deciding blow later in the game.
In the seventh inning, Cabrera came up with runners on second and third (Jose Lobaton and Juan Lagares) to face Craig Stammen after Clayton Richard was pulled from the game to force Cabrera to hit from the left side.
Cabrera made them pay for that decision, though, as he hit a three-run homer to right field on the first pitch of the at-bat.
The 32-year old has been consistently great on the offensive side all year so far as he currently has a .333/.379/.591 slash line with five home runs and 15 RBI. He also only has 15 strikeouts in his 93 at-bats so far as well.
On top it, Cabrera has been hitting well from both sides of the plate this year. He has the same average from both sides (.333), but actually has a higher OBP from the left side (.395) and more home runs (four) than he does from the right side (one).
That is a far cry from his splits last year which saw him hit a mere .240 when he came up to the plate as a left-handed hitter while he hit .392 from the right side.
In regards to what has allowed him to be so successful this year, Cabrera pointed to one thing, as detailed by Matt Ehalt of The Record.
“I’m the same guy as last year. Only difference is I’m healthy.”
Last year, he played through a left thumb injury that certainly could have made it difficult for him to hit from either or both sides of the plate.
The Mets will certainly need to do everything they can to keep Cabrera healthy as he has become a crucial part of the Mets lineup this season.
