Mets Notes: RISP woes continue, Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez looking for power surge

After falling behind by three runs in the first two innings, the Mets' offense got eight at-bats with a runner in scoring position over the next seven frames in Monday's game at Fenway Park. But the visitors only managed to convert those chances into one run -- a Tyrone Taylor third-inning single -- during a 3-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

"Obviously, we're not getting the job done with runners in scoring position," manager Carlos Mendoza said.

New York is now 9-for-54 (.167) with RISP over their last seven games, and after leaving six on base Monday, have left 53 men on in that span. They've gone 3-4 with 14 runs scored.

"At times, feel like [we're] taking really good pitches to hit, being passive and then, at times, chasing," he said. "We've got to start executing."

Mendoza wants to see his charges "go up there with conviction," have an awareness of what a pitcher is trying to do against them, and then "pulling the trigger" when the chance is there, he said.

"Not only putting together a good plan, but going out there and executing," Mendoza said. "And I feel like, when we see guys taking really good pitches to hit early in counts and then chasing, that's a sign that we're kind of in-between in situations like that.

"Understanding that [the pitcher] is the one in trouble, he's the one that has got to make pitches."

However, the skipper sees it as "just a matter of time" before his club's hitters end this slump, even as the Mets' first four batters -- Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and Brandon Nimmo -- combined to go 2-for-14 and hitless in four scoring chances, which included two of the three double plays on the night.

"They're human," he said. "Our offense, when those guys go, we're gonna go."

Lindor specifically has struggled of late, as he has just one hit in his last 22 at-bats with three walks and five strikeouts. Mendoza said that he is seeing the shortstop chase pitches, including a 2-1 fastball above the zone and a 3-2 slider below it with runners on first and third and two outs in the fifth against left-hander Justin Wilson.

"I thought he chased today against a lefty and trying to be aggressive on the first pitch in the [seventh with runners on first and second], but it's not gonna be perfect all the time," the skipper said. "He's too good a player ... the past couple of days, he's not getting the results there. But, he'll be fine."

Mark Vientos searching for power stroke

Vientos’ power numbers have taken a bit of a tumble from a year ago. In 454 plate appearances last year, he had 27 homers (5.95 percent) and 22 doubles (4.85 percent) with a .516 slugging percentage. Through 179 plate appearances this year, he has just five homers (2.79 percent) and six doubles (3.35 percent) for a .377 slugging percentage after an 0-for-4 Monday in Boston.

Mendoza noted before the game that Vientos is “hitting some line drives,” but the power numbers and the 25-year-old “driving the ball out of the park the way we saw last year” have not been there.

“Every player will go through stretches like this, and once they hit one, they gonna come in bunches. That’s what hitters with power usually do,” the manager said pregame. “I don’t want him to go out there and chase homers. I want him to continue to give [a] good approach, control the strike zone, get pitches to hit, and then putting good swings on it. 

“And then, they’ll come. But yeah, it’s been a little bit of an on and off [start] here.”

Vientos snapped out of his early-season funk with a 16-game stretch with a .533 slugging percentage from late April to mid-May, but now has gone six games without an extra-base hit and has just two in 58 at-bats during May.

The advanced stats paint the story this way: In 111 games last year, he posted a .463 expected slugging percentage (84th percentile), 91.2 mph average exit velocity (82nd percentile), 14.1 percent barrel rate (92nd percentile), and a 46.6 hard-hit percentage (80th percentile), per Statcast. 

In 2025, the expected slugging percentage entering Monday was down to .387 (33rd percentile), average exit velocity down to 90.6 (61st percentile), barrel percentage 6.5 (31st percentile), and hard-hit rate to 44.7 (59 percentile).

Could it be a matter of less time in the field? Vientos, who started as the DH on Monday for the fifth time this year, played the field in all 105 games he started last year. Mendoza believes he has been handling rotating between playing at third base and serving as the designated hitter “fine” and didn’t seem to see a link.

“I think he’s just gotta continue to work,” he said. “And then the days that he’s not playing third base, DH-wise, he’s gotta continue to do his pregame routine and stay ready. But I think he’s handled it fine.”

Mendoza admitted that it can be a challenge for a young player used to playing in the field to learn to adjust to just being a DH. 

“There’s always challenges,” he said. “But I don’t think this is new for him, I don’t know what to make of this. The one thing is, he’s in the lineup, he’s getting at-bats, and he’ll learn, he’ll adjust, and he’ll continue to get opportunities at third base, too.” 

Call to ConEd answered?

Another young Met experiencing a bit of a power outage is Francisco Alvarez, but he snapped out of a 0-for-12 skid with hits in his first two trips to the plate, including his first extra-base hit in his last 44 at-bats.

The catcher has seen his slugging percentage dip from .437 in 123 games his rookie season to .403 in 100 games last year to just .353 through his first 18 games. Before Monday's contest, Mendoza identified a culprit for his struggles.

“The one thing I’m seeing the past few days is he’s getting beat with fastballs,” the manager said. “And, at this level, you gotta be able to hit the fastball. He’s been a good fastball hitter, but again, I think he’s just late. Hitters are gonna go through this, he’s aware of it.”

Alvarez batted .315 with a .534 slugging percentage on the heater a year ago. Entering Monday's games, those numbers were down to .310 and .310 this year. The big drop came in the expected category: His xBA on is down 50 points to .213 and his xSLG is down 160 points to .299.

His whiff rate on the heater is up from 22.1 percent to 44.3 percent, which is his highest rate against any type of pitch for the first time in his career. 

“It’s pretty easy, they’re getting ahead and they continue to throw him fastballs, especially at the top of the zone with two strikes,” Mendoza said. “He’s gonna have to make some adjustments, and he will. But again, that’s part of 162 and he’s going through it right now.”

Alvarez looked to rectify that, smacking a first-pitch 95 mph fastball from Hunter Dobbins to right for a double that got over Wilyer Abreu's head in the third. But later in the game, he was caught looking at a 0-2 fastball on the outside corner and bounced into a game-ending 4-6-3 double-play on a 98.9 mph sinker from Aroldis Chapman in his final two times up.

Is the skipper concerned about Alvarez getting beat on the heater? 

“No, because he’s been a good fastball hitter before,” he said of the 23-year-old before the game. “It’s just whatever he’s doing mechanically. He [has to] go watch film, and make some adjustments, and he will.”

No rest for the Mets -- yet

After three games against the AL East-leading Yankees, the Mets opened a three-game set against the (sub-.500, but) second-place Red Sox with a weekend series against the NL West-leading Dodgers coming up.

“That’s what the schedule says, right?” Mendoza said about the stretch of games. “Can’t look too far ahead, you got to take it one series at a time. We lost the series against the Yankees, here we are getting ready to play another good team.

"I feel like in the big leagues nowadays, there's no soft spot anymore. Every team you play is a good team, especially in the National League. The way I see it is, it’s a pretty competitive league. As far as who you’re playing, there’s always good teams."

Of course, the Mets do close the month with the final six games of a nine-game homestand coming against the White Sox (14-34) and Rockies (8-39).