The New York Mets largely took care of a pair of National League Central bottom feeders this week, taking two of three from the Pittsburgh Pirates before winning three of four over the St. Louis Cardinals. Two unlikely heroes emerged along the way as DJ Stewart and Joey Lucchesi both proved their worth in what could be considered an audition for next season.

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Hitter of the Week

Stewart has been a pleasant surprise for the Mets in a season largely devoid of them, largely in part to his performance this week.

Stewart did not appear in Monday’s game against the Pirates, but he wasted no time getting going on Tuesday with a 2-for-2 day at the plate that included a two-run homer in the seventh inning as well as a single in the ninth. He was rewarded with a start on Wednesday and one-upped himself with two home runs, with the first being a solo shot in the second inning and his second being a two-run bomb in the fifth.

Stewart, who didn’t reach base on either Friday or Sunday, made up for it with another impressive showing on Saturday. He homered yet again on a solo shot in the fourth inning as part of a 2-for-4 outing that included a walk.

Stewart finished the week hitting .353/.389/.1.059 with four home runs and 7 RBI. Pete Alonso also had a dominating week in St. Louis, totaling three home runs in four games against the Cardinals.

Pitcher of the Week

After a long stint with Triple-A Syracuse, Lucchesi looked like a man on a mission on Friday night.

Lucchesi, whose last major league start came on May 13, took the mound against the Cardinals with a chance to showcase himself after seemingly becoming an afterthought to the Mets for most of the season.

Lucchesi ran into trouble early on after loading the bases in the first inning, but he evaded the threat by striking out Jordan Walker to end the frame. He made it look easy from there, as he set down 12 straight hitters before giving up an infield hit to Masyn Winn in the fifth.

He exited the game after throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings and tallied his second win of the year to go with five strikeouts. Lucchesi was optioned back to Syracuse on August 19, but after two eye-opening starts for the Mets, the left-hander will certainly be in the conversation for a starting spot this year and in 2024.