In a game where each team hit a triple in a key spot, it was the Mets’ Mark Vientos who got the short end of the stick despite another strong showing at the plate on Friday.

Vientos not only hit the massive go-ahead three-run triple in the eighth, but he hit the ball hard all day. He now has hits in nine of his last 10 games as he continues to slowly but surely turn things into gear. His OPS sits at a still-modest .622, but it was in the .300s two weeks ago.

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Vientos’s triple was actually the softest-hit of his three batted balls on Friday. He lined one at 100.9 mph off the bat into Dylan Crews‘ glove in the first inning, then hit a 106 mph single in the fourth that deflected off of shortstop CJ Abrams. His hit preceded the controversial triple play that wasn’t reviewable, overshadowing the hits from Vientos and the struggling Brandon Nimmo. The Mets trailed 2-0 at the time.

Vientos struck out in the seventh inning as the Mets had very few answers, at the time. Four straight curveballs got him. Vientos’s strikeout rate is down about 9% in the early going of this season from his major league career mark, though he’s struck out five times in his last three games. That still hasn’t been a huge issue in Vientos’s game so far this year.

After a clutch hit by Nimmo in the eighth — his third multi-hit game of the season — Vientos greeted reliever Kyle Finnegan with a luckily-placed triple to right field. Crews busted down to attempt a miraculous catch, but to no avail. It was a 96.8 mph fastball that Vientos just kind of flicked to right field, and though it wasn’t his best contact, it got the job done in what was the pivotal moment of the game at the time. The ball came off the bat at 76 mph. The Mets leapt to a 4-3 lead.

Vientos is batting just .115 with runners in scoring position this year, so at the very least it was a confidence booster even if it did involve some luck in his favor. Vientos has taken almost nothing but positive steps in the right direction at the plate over the last two weeks after his slow start. He’s driven in a run in six of his last 10 games, finding ways to contribute and get those numbers up to more respectable territory.

The metrics still don’t particularly favor Vientos. Compared to last year’s breakout season, his xSLG, average exit velocity, barrel percentage and hard-hit rate are all massively down. Curiously, his strikeout-to-walk ratio has actually improved; his strikeout rate, as previously discussed, is down, and his walk rate is up about 4%. He’s taking good at-bats, the fruits of which he’s started to bear recently, but he’s not making the same quality of contact. Hopefully for him and the Mets, Friday’s two hard-hit balls and his clutch triple will help get him going again.

He’ll be a continuing storyline to watch as the month of April wraps up and the season is no longer fresh. The Mets really need better than they’ve gotten from their five-hitter, especially with Nimmo not doing particularly well in the cleanup spot. Continued progression from Vientos — to ideally get back near last year’s numbers — would help deepen the lineup a little bit outside of the vaunted top three.

Vientos and the Mets will look to bounce back from Friday night’s 5-4 heartbreak at 4:05 p.m. ET Saturday in Game 2 against the Nationals.