CONFORT’ ZONE
Michael homers, looking like old self at plate again
The Mets came up with precious little offense Saturday night, but all the offense they did muster came off the bat off Michael Conforto. He’s gone from skidding to streaking and done so in short order.
Conforto — who has broken out of his early-season malaise — clubbed his seventh home run of the season in the sixth inning for the Mets’ only run in a 7-1, 14-inning loss to the Cubs in front of 32,817 at Citi Field. But Conforto and the bullpen were about the only bright spots — apart from Jacob deGrom, who delivered another stellar outing.
The solo shot continued Conforto’s clutch hitting the past three weeks, and the fact that it came against a left-hander was auspicious and only served to reinforce that the old Conforto may actually be back. The Mets surely need him, having lost five straight at home and eight of their past 10 overall.
Conforto went 1-for-5 with a walk and a run scored. He has hit .295 over his past 17 games with four homers, seven RBIs and eight runs scored. That’s a far cry from the slump he’d been in.
On May 6, Conforto had been batting just .184 and suffering from a complete power outage. He had hit just one home run and none since Opening Day.
After undergoing surgery to repair a torn posterior capsule in his left shoulder last September — an operation that kept him from swinging a bat for almost four months and cost him spring training — the ice-cold start raised questions about whether he had rushed back too soon (this is the Mets, after all) and whether the procedure had robbed him of his power.
But ever since going deep the next day in Cincinnati, he’s started to rouse. Over his past 23 games, he’s hit six of his seven home runs, including Saturday’s.
Jacob deGrom had been on the wrong end of a tough-luck pitcher’s duel, trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth when Conforto got the run back.
Cubs starter Mike Montgomery had befuddled the Mets all evening, and Conforto had come in batting just .171 against left-handers and slugging a mere .268. But when he got ahead 2-1 and Montgomery hung a 92 mph fastball, he didn’t miss, clubbing a shot to center that outfielder Albert Almora Jr. barely gave a cursory chase to.
Five of Conforto’s seven homers have either given the Mets a lead or pulled them even. Saturday’s blast tied the score at 1-1 — until the Cubs untied it with six runs in the 14th off relievers Buddy Baumann and Gerson Bautista.