The Mets went into Thursday afternoon looking to run over the Nationals again for another series win, their sixth win in a row and to move 21 games over .500.
Though they got it all in a narrow 4-3 win, it wasn’t a beatdown nor a clean game, and the win was dimmed by a right hamstring strain to Kodai Senga.
Only one of the few highlights came from the streaking-hot second baseman.
With Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto on base after drawing walks, Jeff McNeil blasted the second pitch he saw — a 95.7 mph fastball — to far right field and watched the ball reach the front row of fans, just inside the foul pole, for a three-run homer in the first inning.
It went off the bat at 92.9 mph to travel 342 feet, and the eight-year veteran pumped his fists as he rounded first base.
It was McNeil’s fourth home run in the past five games.
He also has 10 RBIs during the stretch.
“Amazing. Baseball can be that way sometimes. You get on some hot streaks and you ride them as long as you possibly can,” Brandon Nimmo said of his teammate after the win. “He’s swinging the bat well right now, and we love it. Obviously, every run counted there. We needed every run.
“So, you know, I love it.
“We all know what Jeff’s capable of. He was batting champion in ’22 and he’s swinging it really, really well right now. So, anytime he’s swinging it well, it’s good for us.”
McNeil is off to a much better start this season than a year ago, and especially this month.
In 2024, the 33-year-old was hitting a brutal .194 in June with just one home run and five RBIs.
This season, he started off strong, hitting .333 with a 1.056 OPS in March and April.
His bat took a dip in May (down to .222) but things have heated up along with the weather.
In June, after Thursday’s matinee, McNeil had gone 12-for-37 (324) over 10 games, upping his season average to .270 to go with a .911 OPS.
He was hit by a pitch in the lower right leg in the bottom of the third inning and was taken out for Luisangel Acuña in the top of the seventh, but manager Carlos Mendoza said McNeil isn’t hurt despite the early exit.
“He’s fine,” the manager said. “The decision there is put the guy in there that can cover a lot of ground at second base with so many lefties from that lineup, and the trade-off is one at-bat. So, I decided to go with the defense there.”