LOS ANGELES — Mark Vientos said he took it personally Monday afternoon when the Los Angeles Dodgers chose to intentionally walk Francisco Lindor to face Vientos with the bases loaded in the second inning. Anyone who understands baseball strategy knows he shouldn’t have.
But by the second inning of Game 2 of this National League Championship Series, which Lindor opened with a leadoff home run to give dominant Sean Manaea an early cushion, any Met but Lindor would have been preferable.
But Vientos, like his Mets, has made a name for himself this season by being ready — for every and any moment. So he fouled off five pitches, worked a full count and hit a grand slam to give the Mets a six-run lead in a game they would go on to win, 7-3.
“I use it as motivation,” Vientos said. “I’m like, all right, you want me up, I’m going to show you.”
A day after Los Angeles annihilated New York, 9-0, in Game 1, Vientos and the Mets made a point. They proved they are firmly in the best-of-seven series, which will now head to New York. And they proved that whatever momentum they carried into October is not so fragile as to disintegrate in one Southern California night.
“It was an important game today, especially after the way we played last night,” Mets Manager Carlos Mendoza said. “… We get punched in the face, and we continue to find ways to get back up. And it will continue to be that way.”
Vientos parallels the Mets in that way. After struggling in 233 major league plate appearances last year, the third baseman entered spring training hoping to make the major league roster. He hit five spring training homers and hovered around an .800 OPS as he pushed for a spot, probably as a designated hitter. Then, in the last week of spring training, the Mets signed veteran J.D. Martinez. Vientos no longer had a path. Punch No. 1.
He got called up again when Starling Marte was placed on the bereavement list in late April. While Marte was gone, Vientos hit a walk-off, 11th-inning homer on a Sunday. By Tuesday, he had been sent back down. Punch No. 2.
“One thing that Mark doesn’t lack, and that’s confidence,” Lindor said. “He doesn’t back down from any challenges that get thrown his way.”
In mid-May, in need of an offensive boost, the Mets called up Vientos again. At the time, they planned for him to take innings at third base and play against left-handed pitching. He hit .310 with a .917 OPS that month and played his way into regular third base duty. By late August, as New York was charging back into the playoff race, Mendoza bumped him up to hit second in the order.
“Even just in the 2½ months I’ve been here, I think I’ve seen him get better on both sides,” said Mets outfielder Jesse Winker, who came over from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline. “He takes a lot of pride in getting better and putting the work in. That’s why it shows up in moments like that. That’s a special player we’re talking about.”
Winker said the thing that stands out to him about Vientos is the way he combines size — a lean 6-foot-4 frame that carries tons of natural power — with a smooth, compact swing multiple teammates describe as “repeatable.”
In baseball parlance, “repeatable” is most often used to describe pitcher mechanics, which cause trouble when they vary. But as Vientos deals with constant adjustments from big league pitchers trying to find his weaknesses, he does not alter his swing much at all.
So it was with the bases loaded in that second inning, when the righty drove a pitch to right center field.
“You didn’t see a big swing. It was, ‘Let me put it in play, let me stay in the big part of the ballpark,’ and he was able to drive that one,” Mendoza said. “Then you see the next at-bat against a lefty, just going the other way with ease and just shoot the ball the other way. That’s a sign of not only a good hitter but someone that is mature and is under control. It doesn’t matter the situation.”
Vientos is hitting .378 with a 1.086 OPS and three homers in the postseason. His homers in the win in Game 2 of the NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies etched him into Mets lore. And that production has offered protection for Lindor, who continues to be the heart and soul and tone-setter for the Mets. His slam Monday also offered protection for the New York bullpen.
As big a lead as his swing gave him, the Mets did not exactly cruise to victory. Thanks in part to shaky defense, the Dodgers climbed back to within three runs and pushed Manaea from the game in the sixth. Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek and closer Edwin Diaz all had to escape jams. Diaz was needed for four outs, his status as the surest thing in an uncertain bullpen again meaning his help was required for more than one inning.
“In order for us to get where we want to get, we’re going to need Edwin Díaz,” Mendoza said. “And he’s going to continue to step up.”
When this year began, the Mets did not know they would need Mark Vientos so much, so soon. He, on the other hand, seemed to know it all along.
“He understands that he’s not bigger than the moment but that he’s got to be part of the moment,” Lindor said. “He’s going out there and embracing every single thing he gets, every opportunity. And he’s enjoying the ride.”
