During last night’s 4-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves, Lucas Duda hit a bomb in his first at-bat. Normally when Duda hits a homer, its the beginning of another hot streak. Lucas is sure to continue to benefit from a lengthy Mets lineup that includes Yoenis Cespedes, and new teammates Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera.
“Those are three huge parts. And then David Wright’s health is key for us, too,” Duda said. “We’ve got a pretty lengthy lineup, and if we do what we’re capable of doing, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.” (NY Post)
Duda is a big key to this offense still and has the ability of carrying a team when he is hot. So far this year he has produced a slash of .256/.300/.476. He has hit five homers with 15 RBI in the early going of the 2016 campaign. Duda could be starting in the midst of another tear that we have become used to seeing.
“There’s a time when you’re just comfortable in the batter’s box. The ball looks [huge],” Collins said. “You can go two weeks where you’re just picking spin up early, recognizing the pitches. The bat seems quick in your hands for some reason. … [Then] you’ll go for three or four games where you’re just not picking the ball up, can’t get the bat to the ball. You’re late. You can’t get your foot down. It’s one of the things in baseball no one has an answer for.”
Getting Lucas going would make this offense near unstoppable. With Duda it seems you just need to ride the highs with the lows.
“You go through ups and downs. Limit the downs and accentuate the ups. It’s baseball,” Duda said. “You go through highs and lows. Right now, we’re playing well, and hopefully we can continue playing well.”
Having Duda come around now can only add to the depth of this lineup, as most of it is currently producing in some aspect. Lucas always has the capability of being a 30/100 guy, if he is ever able to turn his streakiness into a bit more consistency.
