Second baseman Dilson Herrera had a big day at the plate on Monday against the Miami Marlins. Herrera blasted a solo home run, his first, against Henderson Alvarez in the third. Then he lined a two-run triple against Sam Dyson in the sixth.
Herrera, 20, did commit two errors, giving him three in four games.
It would be an understatement for me to sit here and say there were tons of things to look forward to at this point in the Mets season. Although on Thursday night, when I learned that Herrera was being promoted, I was as excited as I’d ever been all season.
Herrera as everyone around in the Mets community knows by now, was having tremendous success in the minor leagues this season. Playing the first part of the season in St. Lucie, Herrera was hitting .307 before being promoted to Double-A Binghamton. There was no slowing down at the higher level, in fact he was enjoying more success, and power, which earned him the opportunity to skip Las Vegas and slip into the Mets lineup.
I was elated when the starting lineup was posted on Friday, and I saw Herrera was penciled into the number seven spot.
It is hard for any of us to imagine what it would be like as a 20-year old, to make your major league debut at home. Herrera’s first career at-bat showed a little bit of how he was feeling as he offered on the first pitch he saw, grounding into an inning-ending double play. From there you could tell he might be settling in a bit. Although he ended the night 0-for-3, the best thing about baseball is you get to go out and do it all again tomorrow.
Saturday, Herrera looked a bit more comfortable at the plate. Making decent contact in his first at-bat, then drawing a walk in his second, we certainly baby steps to what was to come. Dilson picked up his first major league hit in the bottom of the seventh inning, splitting the left side of the infield making its way to left. At first I thought that the Mets, who were down 6-0 at the time, would scratch their first run across, then I saw it was Lucas Duda running. Dilson’s first career RBI would have to wait. The proverbial monkey was off his back.
In the series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, Herrera made his final at-bat of the game count. It wouldn’t be until the top of the ninth that we found out just how important it was. With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Dilson, who already scored his first major league run earlier in the day, took a pitch from Phillies reliever Justin De Fratus and hit it up the middle scoring Kirk Nieuwenhuis from third. At the time the Mets were up 5-4, so Herrera’s first major league RBI gave them a enormous insurance run that they ending up needing. Our beloved Mets escaped with a 6-5 win.
Monday’s 2-for-4 performance speaks for itself. His first career home run off Henderson Alvarez, and his first career triple have left me eager with anticipation about what more there is to come from this exciting young player.
For those of you that missed it, or if you just want to admire it again, here’s a video of Herrera’s home run. Enjoy.
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