Cabrera thrives batting leadoff
After spending Opening Day hitless in the cleanup spot, Asdrubal Cabrera batted leadoff Saturday and seemed to take a liking to it.
The third baseman went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a run and an RBI as the Mets topped the Cardinals 6-2 at Citi Field.
“I’m feeling pretty good at the plate,” Cabrera said. “I just try to come to the park and try hard to help the team no matter where [I am in the lineup].”
Cabrera got things rolling right away in the bottom of the first when he cracked a double to the right-field corner. He was later forced out at third on a fielder’s choice, but the rally lived on as Todd Frazier clubbed another double to left for a 2-0 lead the Mets never gave back.
“Every time you get a hit in the first AB, you feel more confident and comfortable at the plate,” said Cabrera, who later singled and scored in the seventh before adding an RBI double in the eighth.
Through two games, the Mets have racked up 15 runs on 23 hits. The lineup depth that manager Mickey Callaway has been preaching showed again Saturday as seven of the nine batters in the starting lineup collected at least one hit.
That included Yoenis Cespedes, who crushed a solo home run in the fifth inning, his first of the year. The left fielder had 17 homers in 81 games last year during an injury-shortened season. He is now 3-for-7 with four RBIs, two runs and three walks while getting a new perspective as the Mets’ No. 2 hitter.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Cabrera said. “He’s the big guy of the team.”
Cespedes is not the only one batting in an unfamiliar spot.
Before Saturday, Cabrera had batted leadoff in just 77 of his 1,320 career starts. He was more experienced in five other spots in the lineup, though it hardly seemed to matter as Cabrera and his teammates clicked at the plate again.
“We have really good players,” Cabrera said. “The first two games, that’s what we should do. We have to keep doing what we’re doing and swinging at good pitches.”