Hot McNeil keeps squirrelling away the hits

PITTSBURGH — Pete Alonso was running around with a Jeff McHits T-shirt on the other day.

When asked about McNeil’s prowess against the Pirates after Sunday’s 13-2 wipeout by the Mets at PNC Park, Alonso smiled and offered some other T-shirt suggestions of his own for McNeil, telling The Post, “They don’t call him Squirrel DiMaggio for nothing. Squirrel Williams.’’

He then yelled those names out across the clubhouse.

McNeil, of course, is nicknamed The Squirrel. Hearing the banter from his spot two lockers down, McNeil joined in on the fun, offering his own T-shirt suggestion with a smile: “Squirrel Ruth.’’

Alonso had two more suggestions: “Squirrel Mantle … Squirrel Cobb.’’

Hitters always think about hitting, and Alonso, who is slumping, admitted he shaved off his beard because “I sucked.’’

So it goes in a happy clubhouse now that the Mets have won nine of 10. At this point all those iconic baseball names f it McNeil to a degree.

McNeil home red for the second straight game, his 13th, and also doubled, scored four runs, knocked in two, walked and moved his average up to .336. He was 5-for-10 this series with the two home runs.

And he got robbed his first time up by shortstop Kevin Newman, who was playing di re ct ly behind second base. His next time up McNeil took full advantage of the Pirates’ shift and slapped a double to left.

“I’m always looking to hit the ball the other way,’’ McNeil said.

Unless the lefty-hitting McNeil lasers home runs to right field as he did the last two games.

With Robinson Ca no coming up lame with a left hamstring injury, McNeil shifted from right field to second base. With Cano certain to go on the IL, McNeil said moving back to second base “would be no problem. Like riding a bike. I’ll be fine. It’s natural for me at second. It doesn’t change anything.’’

Todd Frazier has seen a lot of hitters come through the game and said this of McNeil: “He is so resilient as a hitter. It’s amazing.’’

McNeil finds a way and that is what good hitters do. He takes advantage of whatever opposing teams do against him.

“I just take my chances and try to shoot one over there,’’ McNeil said of hitting the ball the other way, a lost art in today’s game. “I can’t hit a three-run home run to lead off the game so I am just looking to go the other way. That’s my job to get on base, poke one over there and then let [Michael] Conforto hit a two-run homer.’’

With his two-hit day, McNeil now has 15-multihit games over the last 28 road games.

Squirrel Cobb, indeed.