The beginning of Neil Walker‘s season has been underwhelming to say the least.
In 30 games, Walker has hit a meager .216/.295/.336 with two home runs and 14 RBI, well below his career norms.
On Monday night, however, Walker provided the Mets with a desperately needed clutch hit in the ninth inning to propel the team to victory.
After Michael Conforto drew a walk and Wilmer Flores singled, Walker drove one to right field to score Conforto and send the fans home happy for his third career walk-off and first as a Met.
Walker, who was awarded the crown and accompanying majestic garb for his walk-off hit, said in that situation, you’re really not trying to do too much and are trying to pull something off speed and he was able to do that.
“We’ve got so many quality players in here that when bad days happen or bad series happen, we’re able to turn the page pretty quickly,” Walker said.
For the second baseman, this could prove to be the turning point that gets him into gear and kick starts his offense.
Walker hit a quality .282/.347/.476 in 113 games in his first season as a Met in 2016, before undergoing a lumbar microdisectomy in September that effectively ended his season.
As the Mets work their way back into relevance, Walker’s bat going forward will be an important piece to the puzzle and I think everyone would be more than happy to see him put up another season in which he possesses a .282 batting average.
With the win, the Mets have now won seven of its last 10 games.
