It seems the off-day Thursday didn’t affect Mark Vientos.
The third baseman powered the Mets past the Reds Friday, clubbing a pair of two-run homers, including a walk-off in the tenth inning.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The first homer set the tone for the Mets the entire game. It came against Fernando Cruz with one on and one out, giving the Mets a two-run lead.
The second, and final, came in the tenth. Former Met Justin Wilson was the culprit this time, serving a 97-mile-per-hour fastball down and in that Vientos turned on. The homer was a laser beam, traveling 401 feet into the night with an exit velocity of 106.6 miles per hour.
“I saw that he (Wilson) had good stuff tonight and I was just trying to stay short and drive the ball to the outfield and just trying to get the run in, I wasn’t trying to do too much,” stated Friday night’s walk-off hero, Vientos.
Vientos’s 23rd and 24th homers led the Mets to an eighth straight victory. It allowed them to keep pace with the Braves and Padres who also won Friday night, and gain a game on the Diamondbacks who lost to the Astros.
The multi-homer game was also historic for Vientos. At 24-years-old, Vientos became the youngest Met in franchise history to have a multi-homer game that included a walk-off homer.
Yet, despite making history, Vientos kept everything in perspective in the postgame.
“Any walk-off home run feels really good,” Vientos stated. “Especially in the pennant race.”
The Mets have continued throughout the season to come up big when they need to the most and Vientos credited the energy of the fans to giving the players on the field that extra boost they need.
“It’s this energy, it’s this energy from Citi Field right now, we’re loving it right now,” said Vientos who credited the fans for being part of the reason the players have the drive to work as hard as they are.
Mark Vientos’ second two-run homer of the game gives the Mets their eighth straight victory! pic.twitter.com/8BBv4jWW4G
— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) September 7, 2024
Along with the fans, Vientos credited the work he put off in the off-season, as well as his coaches and teammates, for helping him out.
“I wouldn’t be here without them,” the third baseman said of his coaches and teammates.
Overall this season, Vientos is batting .289/.342/.563, with a .905 OPS. He has 20 doubles, 24 home runs, 50 runs scored, and 62 RBIs.
Vientos’s season rivals other third basemen in the major leagues. If he qualified, Vientous would lead all third basemen in OPS. He also has 11 more homers than likely Silver Slugger candidate Alec Bohm, and only trails Manny Machado and Eugenio Suarez by one homer for the lead by all NL third basemen this season.
In his last seven games, Vientos has heated up to bat .393/.419/.714. He has three home runs in his last seven, five runs scored, and six RBIs.
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