Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Whatever premonition it was that led Luis Rojas to move the struggling Dominic Smith into the three-hole Monday night, the Mets’ manager should listen to it more.

Mired in an 0-for-20 slump, Smith had his best game in weeks, finishing the day 2-3 with a walk, two runs scored and a fifth-inning solo home run to dead center. The left fielder was instrumental in Monday’s 5-2 win over the Cubs, the first time the Mets downed the Chicago North-siders at Citi Field since Terry Collins was patrolling the dugout.

“He’s a guy that we trust, and we believe that he can break out at any moment,” Rojas said of moving Smith up in the order. “So why move him? We think he’s going to help us there in the middle of the lineup.”

Of course, it helps that Smith has owned Cub starter Jake Arrieta in his career. After last night, Smith is 9-18 against the former Cy Young winner. But this doesn’t appear to be a one-time move to take advantage of a favorable matchup.

“We feel good using him there,” Rojas said. “Pete’s protection can help for him to get some pitches. But he’s got to do some things as well, and make some adjustments, and he did them tonight.”

Having Pete Alonso’s dangerous bat behind him means Smith is more likely to get a pitch to hit than if he was lower in the lineup, something he’s well aware of.

“It’s a little bit of pressure off of me,” Smith said after the game. “I just tried to put good swings on pitches and get on-base and didn’t try to do too much, and I was able to hit the ball hard tonight.”

One good night doesn’t mean Smith’s slump is over. Even expanding from his 0-for-20 stretch, Smith was just 3-for-35 with one extra base hit, two RBI and two runs scored from June 3 to 13.

It’s a good sign that he was able to almost equal his offensive output in one night, and Keith Hernandez noted during the broadcast that Smith’s approach and balance seemed to be much improved – something he’s been working on.

“Over the weekend I feel like I didn’t have my legs under me and I was too wide in the box, so it’s tweaking the little things,” Smith said. “Tonight, I was a little bit more narrow, I was able to control my movements forward, and I think I was able to be patient at the plate and not chase.”

“Just picking up on those things faster, just knowing how your body feels, whether you’re seeing it or not, and then trying to make those adjustments. I think I was able to do that tonight, and I just want to keep doing that as they come.”

Smith turns 26-years-old on Tuesday, and can celebrate his birthday in style by continuing to have a strong series against the first-place Cubs. He’s still a long way away from his outstanding 2020 campaign, in which he slashed .316/.377/.616 – all career highs – and bashed 21 doubles and 10 home runs in the shortened season.

But you have to start somewhere, and Monday was a fine time to do just that.