Davis hoping fruits of his labor will mean more opportunities

SAN FRANCISCO — In the third inning of the Mets’ 13-3 rout over the Giants on Monday, J.D. Davis barreled a 95 mile per hour fastball from right-hander Alex Cobb and turned it into a single — a scorching 107.5 mph off the bat. That line drive to center, Davis said, was all he needed to be locked in for a 4-for-5 evening at the plate.

“Just like a shooter in basketball,” Davis said. “When you find that point of contact, you stay inside the ball and you kind of get that barrel or line drive up the middle that kind of gets

you locked in. After that plate appearance against Cobb, with trying to get him out over the plate and staying inside that ball, that really kind of locked me in. Just felt good going from there.”

Davis’ first hit of the night was just the beginning. Later, in the eighth inning against Mauricio Llovera, the Giants right-handed reliever who was throwing batting practice, Davis mashed a slider for a double with a 108-mph exit velocity. It was the second-hardest hit of the night, following only Pete Alonso’s 112-mph infield single that even four-time Gold Glove

award winner Brandon Crawford couldn’t corral.

While some, if not most, baseball purists may be wondering why hard-hit singles matter, the simple fact is, to these modern-day ballplayers, they do. Ball exit speed has a strong

correlation to batting average and power. Even Buck Showalter, one of the more traditional managers in the game today, appreciated the strength with which Davis cranked his hits.

“If you hit some balls hard, they find a spot to get on the ground,” the Mets skipper said.

“That part’s good. You love to see guys working as hard as he is.”

Late Monday

Mets 13, Giants 3: Pete Alonso hit an early three-run homer moments after Francisco Lindor’s tying, two-run double, and the New York Mets kept slugging all game long to rout the stumbling San Francisco Giants 13-3 on Monday night.

Jeff Mcneil added a two-run homer in the eighth inning and Mark Canha followed with a solo drive in his return to the Bay Area after playing for the Oakland Athletics. That was the second time the Mets connected for back-to-back homers this year, also on April 15 against Arizona.

Brandon Crawford put the Giants on the board first with a two-run homer in the second off lefty David Peterson (2-0), pitching in Max Scherzer’s place with the ace righthander sidelined by an oblique strain.