The Mets' comeback win in game one of Tuesday's doubleheader was a redemption victory, but not just for Javier Baez.
Sure, the currently hated figure among Mets fans singled to pull the Mets within one before scampering home from first on a single and an error to win the game, but another redemption arc occurred in between those plays, when Michael Conforto fought off a single to left, the one that brought Baez home to turn those thumbs upside down at Citi Field.
Conforto, who had been 0-for-4 and slammed his bat and helmet in a tirade after popping out with runners on first and second in the eighth, finally had a reason to celebrate in what has been a frustrating season for him at the plate.
"I was upset," Conforto said. "I was really locked in for that at-bat. I knew I was gonna get a lot of sliders. I got some decent pitches to hit, and I didn't come through for my teammates in that situation. We had gotten a little bit of something going. I was pissed on that one.
"[The coaches] told me 'You're gonna get another big one,' and I ended up getting another big one. Incredible final inning by the guys. For Chance [Sisco] to work that walk and [Brandon Nimmo] to hit that homer, and to restart the rally is a really tough thing. Obviously, Javy doing his thing, incredible awareness to know the ball had got away and to score. That was huge. It says a lot about the guys, especially today."
The Mets entered the bottom of the ninth trailing 5-1 before pushing across five to win the game. Baez was in the middle of it, shortly after he was booed as a pinch hitter and eventually cheered when he was hit by a pitch following his comments that the Mets were flashing thumbs down as a way of booing the fans back in retaliation for the boos that the team has heard for much of the second half of the season.
"A lot can be seen from that final play," Conforto said of Baez. "He's extremely aware. The baseball IQ is elite. Then obviously, he's got the swing. He's got crazy power, he's got incredible defense, and he's a great teammate. He came in here, and he's here to win. He's here to be a big part of this team, not only on the field but off the field, being a good guy. We fully embraced him when he showed up."
It was redemption for both Baez and Conforto, both of whom are entering free agency after the season and have had sub-par seasons at the plate. But on Tuesday, it was all forgotten for a few brief moments.
"The other day, [Conforto] hit the pinch-hit homer, that was big too….it just shows again, these guys are gonna fail, they're gonna struggle, but they're gonna show up," manager Luis Rojas said. "Javier, he's an outstanding player. He's a clutch hitter. He did it the other day for us when he gave us the lead with his homer, so you expect something special to happen in an at-bat like that."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
