Photo by Roberto Carlo

The Mets were swept by the Braves on Sunday night in Atlanta and moved two games behind them in the race for an NL East pennant, but Jeff McNeil continued to improve his batting average going 3-for-5 with a home run, run scored and an RBI on Sunday.

He currently sits in second in baseball, batting .326 on the season. The only player above him is Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers who is batting .327 after going 0-for-4 on Sunday.

McNeil’s first hit came in the top of the first as he singled to right field to put the first baserunner of the game on for the Mets.

With the game tied 1-1 in the top of the third, McNeil led off with a solo home run to right field to put the Mets on top 2-1 as he moved to 2-for-2 on the day.

McNeil singled again in the seventh batting lead-off to try to kick-start the Mets’ offense. However, Raisel Iglesias retired the next three batters he faced, leaving McNeil stranded at first.

Prior to Sunday night, it had been 47 games since McNeil had hit a home run. In a place where the Mets needed it, he came out of that slump to give the Mets a slight lead over the Braves.

While most of the Mets’ offense has been quiet in Atlanta, Jeff McNeil has been 7-for-13, batting .583 throughout the series.

McNeil has been hot at the plate for a month now with his average over the last 28 days at .351 and a .383 over the last two weeks.

Along with his .326 average, McNeil has a .382 on-base percentage and an OPS of .830. Over his last three games, he is hitting .483, with a .518 OBP and a .586 SLG.

McNeil is no stranger to pennant races and he is rising to the occasion and showing how to stay composed and focused in the heat of the excitement and pressure that comes with a race to the top of a division.

McNeil’s batting average is the best it’s been since his abbreviated 63-game rookie season in 2018 where he hit .329. It’s a complete turnaround from 2021 when he hit .251 in 120 games. The 30-year-old two-time All-Star can still win the batting title, a reward he deserves after delivering for the Mets all season.