The Mets entered Wednesday night's series finale with the Braves having scored just eight runs in their last five games, and none in their last two.
But the arrival of Michael Conforto quickly showed what New York's lineup can be at full strength.
Conforto, in his first game back after missing over a month with a hamstring strain, ripped a double in his first at-bat and added a walk and a single in the Mets 7-3 win, the most runs the team has scored in a game in over two weeks.
Conforto jumped right back into the third spot in the order upon his return, while Jeff McNeil, who was just activated off the IL earlier this week, picked up three hits in the leadoff spot to help pace the offense. Meanwhile, Francisco Lindor had a multi-hit game of his own in the second spot of the order, showing the Mets the dynamic top of the order they envisioned before the season began.
"McNeil swinging the bat like he was, and Francisco, he looked really good at the plate, and connecting those with Conforto behind Lindor, that got our offense going," manager Luis Rojas said. "One through three did really good…we missed those guys in our lineup."
Conforto reminded the Mets of his value right away, as his double in the first inning gave him an immediate chance to test out the hamstring, which have him no issues, a welcomed sight from a team still being pounded by injuries.
"Getting that first one out of the way in the first at-bat was great," Conforto said. "The process started pretty quick there. It was good to jump right into the action and test the hamstring. I didn't have any doubt about it, but nevertheless, it was good to get a nice, solid run in, and from there I just stopped thinking about it and focused on the game and having good at-bats."
The Mets have been starved for offense through their wave of injuries, and with the pitching staff being hit particularly hard with bad injury luck of late, the team will need the bats to get going to stay atop the NL East. On Wednesday night, the lineup's big hitters executed the blueprint that was drawn up when Lindor arrived from Cleveland in the offseason.
"It's definitely fun to be a part of that group," Conforto said. "It was great to jump back in the three hole and be able to get a couple of hits, score a couple of runs and help the team win."
Conforto is a big piece to the Mets success, and first impressions were encouraging on Wednesday, as they have been for McNeil. Now comes the task of sustaining that health and success to keep New York ahead of an otherwise struggling division.
"We'll just build off of today," Conforto said. "It's good that I get a rest tomorrow and we'll see what the plan is for Friday."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
