Players of the Week: McNeil Turns It Around

The second half of baseball is officially underway with the All-Star break in the rearview mirror. The Mets opened up their second half down in Vice City to take on the Miami Marlins for a four-game series, where they dropped two of the first three games to the team currently with the worst record in the National League.

It was not the spark they had hoped to carry over from the end to their first half, yet they still hold the third and final wild card position in the National League—tied with both the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres.

Offensive Player of the Week: Jeff McNeil

Here’s a player who has struggled mightily over the first half, on pace for a career-worst season for the former batting champion. The extra few days off probably couldn’t have benefitted any other Mets player better than it could have for Jeff McNeil. In his first game back in action he swatted not one, but two long balls to give him seven home runs on the season. His first of the day was a solo shot to dead center to get the Mets on the board, although trailing 4-1. Then he hit a two-run long ball to cut the deficit to one in the top of the sixth inning.

Adding a single, McNeil finished his strong night by going 3-for-4 at the dish, including three RBIs and two runs scored. It was McNeil’s first multi-hit game since June 28 against the Houston Astros, where he collected three hits including a home run and three RBIs.

If you’re looking for something positive on an otherwise underwhelming season from McNeil, he is 6-19 in his last five games, including four extra-base hits and six RBIs. Steve Gelbs reported over the weekend that McNeil said he’s stopped trying to “guide” the ball when hitting and is simply trying to make hard swings on the ball. That’s resulted in a bit more power.

The Mets lineup has been a huge part of their resurgence and if you add a better McNeil to their equation things look even brighter.

Pitcher of the Week: Luis Severino

Luis Severino looked extra sharp in his first appearance back from the break. The extra few days of rest appeared to do him favors as he was up to 99 mph on the radar and sat consistently in the upper 90s. He’s been a welcome addition to this current starting rotation that doesn’t exactly feature household names, instead a string of consistent starts that have kept the Mets in the thick of the race.

The Mets leaned in on every bit that Severino had on Saturday, winning the contest by a score of 1-0. His six innings of shutout work included seven punch outs while allowing only two hits and three walks, limiting baserunners all game. His uptick in velocity will be something to watch the rest of the way. In his younger years with the Yankees, he consistently sat in the upper 90s. He has already accumulated more innings this season (121 2/3) than he has since the 2018 season. Take the uptick in velocity as a good sign that he still seems to have plenty left in the tank as we move into the home stretch.

Up Next

The Mets will play one more in Miami on Monday night before heading back to New York to take on the cross-town rivals New York Yankees for the second set of a two-game series between the two teams. It was the Mets who swept the Yankees in the first series in Flushing. The Mets then come home for four games against the Atlanta Braves in what will be the biggest series of the year to date.

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