Rosario continues to swing a hot bat
After a roller-coaster ride of a season, Amed Rosario is finally showing the Mets the kind of consistency that matches the expectations placed upon him.
The second-year shortstop went 17-for-36 (.472) over eight games against the Cubs, Giants and Dodgers on the last road trip to continue his surge over the past three weeks. Overall, Rosario is batting .359 over his past 24 games.
“Basically what I’m doing is putting a lot of trust in myself,” Rosario said. “I think that confidence in myself is everything.”
Said manager Mickey Callaway: “We spend a ton of time to work on the right things with these guys and I think it is all paying dividends.”
Rosario’s emergence in the leadoff spot has allowed Callaway to construct an old-school lineup with exciting rookie Jeff McNeil in the No. 2 hole.
The trend in recent seasons has been to use a power hitter in the No. 2 hole, but Yoenis Cespedes’ absence from the lineup for most of the season has forced Callaway to rethink his approach.
“With who we have currently, I love the idea of being a little more traditional with the two hole and making some things happen,” Callaway said.
CT scan results were negative for Zack Wheeler and Kevin Plawecki, who both received the precautionary tests Wednesday night before the Mets departed Los Angeles. Wheeler was hit by a line drive in the chest, but remained in the game. Plawecki was drilled by a pitch in the ribs and forced to depart early.
Plawecki will be evaluated Friday, but the Mets could select Jose Lobaton to give them extra catching depth behind Tomas Nido. As it stands, catcher Devin Mesoraco is sidelined because of stiffness in his neck and back. Mesoraco was expected to receive further evaluation Thursday.
Anthony Swarzak will be evaluated Friday for removal from the disabled list. The veteran right-hander, who has spent the last month rehabbing a shoulder strain, made a rehab appearance for Single-A Brooklyn on Monday. Swarzak, who received a two-year deal worth $14 million from the Mets last winter, missed most of the first two months of the season rehabbing a strained oblique.