Batting out of the seven hole on Monday, Wilmer Flores went 3-for-4 with a run scored and in the process, boosted his batting average to .313 for the season.
Flores, 25, has started 13 games this month and has nine multi-hit games and is batting .393 (24-for-61) this month.
After flicking a single into center in the second, Flores help set the Mets up for its first run in the fifth inning.
Asdrubal Cabrera kicked off the frame with a single and Flores followed suit with a base knock of his own to left.
The second baseman advanced to third on a double from Rene Rivera and beat out a throw to home on a sacrifice fly from Robert Gsellman.
The righty added another single in the sixth before popping out in his final at-bat.
Mets manager Terry Collins believes that Flores has done a good job embracing his super utility role and has grown into it since last season.
“When you’re young, you want to play and [I] think that probably bothered him last year,” Collins said. “But I know one thing, he stepped up when he knew he had to hit left-handed pitching and worked hard at it.”
Hitting in a lineup that has averaged nearly six runs a game in the month of May, Flores’ name can be overshadowed by players like the white hot Lucas Duda and all-star hopeful Michael Conforto, but the young infielder is finding ways to get on-base and put the Mets in a position to score, even if that means doing it in a more quiet manner.
“Like I said, I’m just trying to hit,” Flores said. “I’m early, I’m seeing the pitches good. Righty, lefty, I’m just getting ready to hit.”
Collins attributes this to Flores being more comfortable and accepting of his role with the team.
“This year, I think he came into camp saying, ‘Hey, I’m the utility infielder here,'” Collins said. “‘I’ve got to be ready to play every position and do as best I can’ and he’s done that.”
