The New York Mets made their mark on the National League Wild Card race this week as they took three out of four games from the Arizona Diamondbacks before dropping two of three to the Cincinnati Reds. Ronny Mauricio provided a spark as he sustained a solid start to his MLB career while fellow rookie Kodai Senga simultaneously strengthened his Cy Young and Rookie of the Year résumés with a terrific outing.
Hitter of the Week
After waiting months to get his chance at the major league level, Ronny Mauricio hasn’t looked back since being called up.
Mauricio’s first action of the week came on Monday against Arizona as he went 1-for-3 with a walk, stolen base and two-run double off Zach Davies in the fourth inning. Before sitting out the final two games of the series, Mauricio went 1-for-4 on Tuesday with a two-run home run off Ryne Nelson in the fourth.
Mauricio found himself in the starting lineup for each game against Cincinnati and seized the opportunity. He went 0-for-3 with a walk in Friday’s contest, but quickly bounced back with a 2-for-4 performance on Saturday that included another stolen base and an RBI single. He concluded his week with another two-hit performance on Sunday.
Mauricio recorded a .316/.381/.526 slash line to go with one home run, six RBI and two stolen bases.
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Pitcher of the Week
In an organization that has historically been blessed with pitching talent, Kodai Senga has emerged as the Mets’ newest ace.
Two months after twirling an eight-inning masterpiece against the Diamondbacks in Arizona, Senga stifled the Snakes yet again on Thursday afternoon. After allowing a two-out single to Tommy Pham in the first inning, Senga set down 13 batters in a row while striking out nine of them. He ran into some control issues in the sixth and loaded the bases with two outs but ultimately tiptoed out of trouble by inducing a flyout from Christian Walker to end his day.
Senga finished the start with 10 strikeouts through six innings of work while allowing zero runs on two hits and two walks, lowering his ERA on the year to 2.95.
