PITTSBURGH — Bo Bichette drew a fifth inning walk for his only plate appearance Sunday without a hit.
“We’ll give him one more,” interim manager Andy Green joked after the 11-1 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park. “He had five and I think he shouldn’t have walked and set his career high and gotten six hits.”
Bichette’s 5-for-5 performance with three RBIs led a lineup that has produced at a high level on this road trip, helping the Mets win five of six games.
Bichette, who owns a mediocre .685 OPS — certainly not what the Mets envisioned when signing him to a three-year contract worth $126 million — has waited much of the season for a day like Sunday.
“It’s definitely not up to my standards, for sure,” Bichette said of his season. “I had two really bad months that I can’t take back, so right now I am just focused on being the best version of myself, finishing strong.”
Bichette’s first-inning single loaded the bases with nobody out, helping the Mets establish an early 2-0 lead. He singled again in the third and was on base when Luis Robert Jr. blasted a two-run homer. In the fourth, Bichette delivered a bases-loaded double that accounted for his three RBIs. Following his walk in the fifth, he concluded his day with a double and a single.
The Mets received a homer from Francisco Alvarez and three hits from Jared Young in winning a second straight series. Bichette had a key hit in Cleveland on Wednesday, when he stroked a go-ahead single in the 10th inning that stood as the margin of victory.
Bichette was asked about the team’s collective mindset following the Mets becoming sellers before last Monday’s trade deadline.
“I think the trade deadline was kind of a turn-the-page moment,” Bichette said. “It’s in everybody’s best interest to come out here and try to get better every day, try to win, become a better team, become better individuals. That is our focus.”
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Bichette has prided himself on his ability to make contact throughout his career, and Sunday’s performance underscored that aspect of his game.
“It’s always been part of my game, but I think you get in trouble when you chase them,” Bichette said. “But it’s something I look at for sure.”
