Bo

Bichette

Is this it? Is Bichette finally waking up? This felt like a vintage game for him, dunking singles left and right while coming through on multiple occasions with runners in scoring position. Still, he doesn’t have an extra-base hit in more than two weeks – his second drought that long over the last five weeks, somehow – and it will take more to convince us this wretched start is behind him. Even after a four-hit day, his batting average sits at .226 with a lowly .590 OPS.

Bichette went 5-for-10 with three homers in a two-game span against the Nationals a couple of weeks ago, but it wasn’t the start of a big turnaround; he’s 8-for-45 with zero extra-base hits in 12 games since, dropping his OPS back down to .574. Bichette’s exit velocity numbers aren’t much different from last year, and he still figures to rebound at some point.

Baty receives his first day off since May 10. Bo Bichette takes over at third base with Vidal Bruján getting a rare opportunity at shortstop.

Bichette strolled to the dish with the bases loaded in the third inning and poked a first-pitch knuckle curve from Cade Cavalli into center for a two-run single, giving the Mets an early advantage that they would never relinquish. That would be his only hit in four trips on the day. For the season, the 28-year-old infielder is slashing an underwhelming .225/.276/.328 with five homers and 27 RBI through his first 221 plate appearances with the Mets.

Now that’s more like it. Bichette had just two homers across his first 46 games this season, but he’s now put up three homers over the past two days. That’s baseball for you. Bichette clearly hasn’t been the best version of himself this season, and learning a new position probably hasn’t helped, but he’s too talented and has too much of a track record to suggest that he wouldn’t snap out of it at the plate. It’s probably also helped to play shortstop with Francisco Lindor sidelined.

A.J. Ewing debuts in the eighth spot. The Mets are just trying to find any combination that works. Soto had led off six games in a row after hitting second previously. Bo Bichette, who was leading off when Soto was hitting second, remains in the second spot for now. Benge had a brief three-game run in the leadoff spot last month, but this is his first time hitting higher than fifth since Apr. 19.

Bichette was decent for a spell in the second half of April, but he’s back down to .222/.269/.290 now. This is the fifth four-game hitless streak of his career. His high is five in a row, which took place in July 2023.

He suffered the injury when he jammed his thumb on first base while sliding headfirst. It’s a tough break for the Mets and for Mauricio, who finally had an opportunity to run with a full-time gig while Francisco Lindor (calf) is shelved. Bo Bichette slid over to cover shortstop after Mauricio was removed on Saturday with Brett Baty covering third base and that may be the Mets’ best path until Lindor is ready to return.

Bichette’s home run was just his second of the year. He’s hitting .237 with 13 runs, 14 RBI and one steal this year. Bichette’s strikeout percentage of 22 percent needs to come down and given his 14 percent strikeout percentage last year that’s a reasonable expectation. His .069 iSO should improve as well after posting a .172 ISO last year and we saw the start of that with his home run on Tuesday.

Bichette led off the home half of the first inning with a single and rode home on Brett Baty’s three-run blast. He then reached on a passed ball in the second inning, swiped second base and scored on an RBI double off the bat of Luis Robert Jr. The 28-year-old infielder then smacked a bases-clearing three-run double off of Anthony Banda with two outs in the eighth inning, snapping a 7-7 tie and proving to be the difference in the ballgame. With the three-hit attack, Bichette is now hitting .238/.270/.314 with one homer, 12 RBI and one stolen base through his first 111 plate appearances with the Mets.