John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
The end of the year is just days away, so let’s take a look at the best singular offensive performances for the Mets in 2022.
Eduardo Escobar: June 6
Eduardo Escobar had his fair share of lows over the first half of his first Mets season, but he broke out of a rut when the team went west.
The night after the incredible Yoan Lopez save against the Dodgers, the Mets kept the train rolling in San Diego. Escobar was the conductor on a night when he hit for the cycle–the 11th in team history.
First came the single in the top of the first, then came a double to lead off the fourth. He launched a homer in the top of the eighth, leaving him a triple shy of the feat. He got his chance an inning later, and what better place to leg out a triple than Petco Park? Escobar roped one into right, and he made it to third base standing.
He finished the night 4-for-5 with six RBIs and was the first Met to hit for the cycle in a decade.
Mark Canha: Aug. 21
The first of two performances featured in a comeback, Mark Canha had his signature Mets moment on August 21 in Philadelphia.
Canha went 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs in a 10-9 Mets win. His second home run was a mammoth three-run shot in the top of the ninth that gave the Mets a 10-8 lead. Edwin Díaz had one of his few shaky performances in the bottom of the frame, but the Mets held on for a win, which gave them their 21st win in 27 games. Canha’s performance was one of many big moments that added to the Mets’ magical 101-win season.
Pete Alonso: Sept. 25
There was a week and change left in the season, and Pete Alonso was a couple of RBIs short of the team record. He made quick work of that in a September 25 game against Oakland.
In the top of the fourth with the Mets leading 5-0, Alonso hit a massive 451-foot two-run homer to five him 125 RBIs–a tie for the team record. But the next time he came, in the top of the seventh, the bases were loaded. He knocked in three more with a double and became the franchise leader in RBIs for a single season.
Alonso finished the game going 4-for-5 with a double, homer and five RBIs, and he finished the season with 131 runs batted in. (Through four seasons–one being the 60-game COVID season–Alonso is 17th in RBIs franchise history and 7th in home runs with 146. With another 35-homer, 100-RBI season, he’ll be top 10 in RBIs, and top 5 in home runs.)
Eduardo Escobar: Sept. 28
Amidst the Mets’ drought in September–when they could least afford it–you couldn’t blame Eduardo Escobar. He turned his struggle-filled season around in the final month and change of the year by slashing .321/.385/.596/.982, knocking in 25 runs, and smashing 12 extra-base hits.
His month-long streak peaked on September 28, when Escobar went 3-for-5 with a home run and five RBIs. His offensive night–and the Mets’–started in the seventh inning with a two-run homer. Escobar then tied in the game in the eighth a 4-4 with a two-RBI single. He then ended the night two innings later with a game-winning RBI single in the 10th, capping off the team’s comeback from being down 4-0. Escobar knocked in all five runs for the Mets that night, finally giving Mets fans something to cheer.
Brandon Nimmo: October 4
Remember the water-logged final series of the season? It didn’t matter for the Mets, as the Braves clinched the NL East the day before. But no one told Brandon Nimmo that.
The Mets played a doubleheader against the Nationals on October 4. Over those two games, Nimmo went 6-for-8 with two singles, two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs. He had 14 total bases over the Mets’ two-game sweep. The team’s season ended just a couple of days later in the Wild Card round, so his performance that day probably went forgotten, but it was one the Mets could see more of over the next eight years.
