SEATTLE — Marcus Semien’s numbers with runners in scoring position haven’t been the issue as much as his production the rest of the time.
Unfortunately for the Mets, the vast majority of the veteran infielder’s at-bats this season have occurred the rest of the time. But over the last week, there’s been an uptick in Semien’s all-around performance.
Over his previous seven games entering Monday night, Semien owned a .954 OPS. He was an instrumental piece in a team that took a four-game winning streak into play as the Mets prepared to face the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
“There have been lots of ups and downs, but the work never stops,” Semien said. “That is what I love about this game is we have eight months to basically work as hard as we can to get to the point where we are playing in the game and the ball slows down a little bit and we’re swinging well.”
Even with his recent surge, Semien began play with an anemic .615 OPS for the season. Among his troubling underlying numbers are an average exit velocity of 86.1 mph that ranked in MLB’s ninth percentile. His average bat speed of 68.4 mph also ranked in MLB’s ninth percentile.
Semien went 5-for-10 with a homer in a three-game sweep of the Marlins that completed the homestand. It was a contributing factor to one of the Mets’ best series offensively this season after a dreadful showing the previous weekend in Miami. Over those three games the Mets scored only two runs and got swept.
“I think we learned from the series in Miami what worked against us,” Semien said. “And I think that is what this league is always about is making adjustments when the other team has really good stuff. They threw us a lot of offspeed pitches even though they have high velocity, too, so you have to be able to handle velocity but get it in the right spot … we chased a lot. It’s never going to be perfect but if everybody goes with that approach, that was part of the conversation.”
Semien entered the day with an .830 OPS with runners in scoring position. Included into that equation was a .354 batting average (17-for-48) in such instances.
Manager Carlos Mendoza described Semien as “short to the ball and quick” when he’s successful offensively.
“He’s not missing pitches there, controlling the strike zone a little bit better,” Mendoza said. “We are going to need him. It’s been hard for him, but this guy is going to continue to play and grind out. It was good to see him continue to get results.”
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Juan Soto continues to carry the Mets lineup, but the Mets received big contributions from Carson Benge, Mark Vientos and Jared Young, among others, in building the four-game winning streak they took into play.
Semien, who won a Gold Glove at second base last year with Texas, can appreciate the team’s defensive growth — with the addition of rookie A.J. Ewing to join Benge in the outfield — as much as the offensive resurgence.
“A lot of those balls are being hit over my head and you feel like they are going to be doubles or triples and they are running them down,” Semien said “It’s a good feeling and it makes our pitchers feel like they can be confident in the zone. Their talent is through the roof and experience is how they are going to get better every day.”
