CHICAGO — Luis Robert Jr.’s visit to his old stomping ground undoubtedly will be remembered as a highlight of his season.
Saturday night, the veteran outfielder blasted two homers against his former team to help the Mets beat the White Sox 10-5.
Robert heard boos from the home crowd after hitting both homers.
“It feels good to hit homers against any team at home,” Robert said through an interpreter. “But I will say it felt good to hit the home runs here, just because it was a stadium I played so many games over my career.”
Robert, who spent seven seasons with the White Sox, hit a two-run homer in the third that gave the Mets a 4-1 lead. He also delivered a solo blast in the seventh.
Overall, the Mets hit five homers.
“[Friday] it felt a little weird here and a little strange,” Robert said. “Today, it was pretty normal.”
Francisco Alvarez snapped an 0-for-14 with a single in his first at-bat, but his frustration level has mounted lately in inverse proportion to his OPS.
The Mets catcher had an outburst on Friday after a strikeout, returning to the dugout and snapping his bat in half. Alvarez finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
“The frustration was from [Friday], because it only matters the day we played,” Alvarez said before the game. “What happened before is in the past. It’s more about the day.”
Alvarez began play 8-for-52 (.154) in August with an anemic .536 OPS. He had strikeouts in 25 of those at-bats.
“He’s incredibly passionate — he wants to be great for the team,” interim manager Andy Green said of Alvarez’s emotional display. “He wants to be great because he puts a lot of work in.”
Green said Alvarez’s issue simply hasn’t just been chasing pitches outside the strike zone.
“I think chase usually shows up after you have missed your pitch,” Green said. “He’s had some pitches to hit but he hasn’t necessarily squared up. When that happens he’s found himself outside of the strike zone.”
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Mark Vientos, who began a minor league rehab assignment as the DH on Friday for Double-A Binghamton, will see action at first base and third base before returning to the Mets, according to Green. Vientos is rehabbing a right-hand fracture that has kept him sidelined since July 10.
