MAC ATTACKS
Rookie’s four hits lift Mets over Giants
Rookie Jeff McNeil’s mind swung into action even before his bat.
McNeil went 4-for- 4 and hit a go-ahead double with two outs in the eighth inning that sent the Mets over the Giants, 6-3,Tuesday night.
McNeil became the first Mets player with a pair of four-hit performances within his first 27 games.
The 26-year-old McNeil singled in his first three at-bats, then gave the Mets a 3-2 lead by lining a first-pitch fastball from left-hander Tony Watson (4-5) down the left-field line.
“I was kind of looking out over the plate. I faced him yesterday and he threw me three sliders, so I’ve seen that pitch I got a hit off it yesterday. So yeah, I was kind of expecting a fastball there and I got it,” McNeil said.
McNeil is hitting .326 since making his bigleague debut this season. He was batting a combined .342 at Triple-A and Double-A.
“He’s going and getting pitches, even good pitches and put the barrel on them,” Mickey Callaway said. “We’ve seen him go down and get one and hit it back over the middle. We’ve seen him reach out over the plate against a tough lefty in Watson and slap the ball down the left-field line. So he’s a multidimensional hitter that can do a lot of things with the bat and it shows.”
With the score tied at 2, Jose Reyes led off the Mets eighth with a triple off the center-field fence. Watson got pinch-hitter Todd Frazier on a pop out and struck out Amed Rosario before McNeil delivered.
Michael Conforto hit a three-run homer after the Giants intentionally walked Wilmer Flores and finished with four RBI.
Steven Matz allowed two runs on five hits in five innings in his second start for the Mets since returning from a strained left forearm. Matz also was robbed of a potential extra-base hit in the third by left fielder Hunter Pence. Matz hit a fly ball to the warning track and Pence made a basket catch as his hat fell off.