‘Motivated’ Vientos Clubs Grand Slam in Game 2 of NLCS

Crossroads in a baseball game can come at any moment. Any inning of a game.

Usually we think of the later innings or middle innings of those games, but on Monday against the Dodgers, the Mets moment came in the second when Dave Roberts chose to pitch to Mark Vientos.

The moment was set up by the bottom of the order against Landon Knack. The righty allowed a leadoff single to Starling Marte, walk to Jesse Winker, and then a run-scoring double to Tyrone Taylor two batters later.

He retired Francisco Alvarez with one pitch, leaving the Mets with two outs, two base runners, and their MVP Francisco Lindor up at the plate.

Lindor had already homered in the first and given the Mets a 1-0 lead, leaving Roberts with a choice. Walk Lindor and load the bases for Vientos. Or take a second crack at the switch-hitting shortstop.

Roberts opted for the first, setting the stage for the young third baseman who had already had countless moments in the playoffs.

The RBI single in the Brewers series. The two-homer game in Philadelphia, which included a longball in the ninth against Matt Strahm to tie the game.

Monday was just another script waiting to be written. And Vientos took the pen and wrote his story.

On the ninth pitch of the at-bat, Vientos lined a center-cut fastball toward centerfield. The ball kept carrying over Andy Pages‘s head, and eventually over the wall for a grand slam.

It was pure euphoria after an at-bat where Vientos fought tooth and nail. Again, it took eight pitches to get to the 95-mile-per-hour fastball left on a tee. Vientos saw seven sliders first. Two in the dirt and five fouled off.

“Honestly, I was just trying to simply the game,” Vientos told Tom Verducci after the game. “I was trying to put a ball in the gaps or just get a walk. I wasn’t trying to swing at anything in the dirt today I know today they were throwing me a lot of pitches down and away and I was trying to see them up.”

But the the ninth pitch got out. And it gave the Mets a commanding 6-0 lead that led to an eventual 7-3 win. It set the tone for the remainder of the game with Sean Manaea on the mound, and gave the Mets pitching breathing room at the Dodgers offense chipped away at the lead the entire game.

The decision, however, also sent a message to Vientos. A message that he took personally and ran with.

“To be honest with you, I took it personally. “I was like ‘Okay, I mean you want me up to the plate I’m gonna try to drive in a run.’ Honestly, I was trying to simplify the game. I wasn’t trying to do too much but I did take it personally that they walked Lindor for the bases loaded for me.”

We often hear athletes take slights or moments as personal inspiration. Famously Michael Jordan in the Last Dance documentary when talking about his career. But very rarely do we hear this in baseball. And from a player as young as Vientos.

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But the motivation and mindset are justified. Vientos slashed .563/.611/1.063 with two homers and five RBI in the NL Division Series. Even going back to the regular season, Vientos led the team with a 138 OPS+ and trailed Pete Alonso for the second-most homers on the team.

Vientos was debatably their best hitter all season long. The foundation that held up the house and allowed the Mets to go on their magical run.

Yet opposing managers haven’t subscribed yet. And when asked about whether or not big league managers underestimate him, Vientos had this to say.

“Maybe, but, I just feel like it’s the praise for Francisco. You got Francisco in front of me, and he hit a home run earlier in the game, so they’d rather take a chance on me than him. But I use that as motivation. I’m like ‘alright, you want me up? I’m gonna show you. Whatever.'”

Vientos is certainly showing opposing managers. And on the biggest stage. The decision between Lindor and Vientos seems like a no-brainer, especially with the veteran homering earlier in the first.

But Vientos is a scary option as well. A big bopper that Mets fans grew accustomed to during the regular season, but maybe opposing managers haven’t realized yet.

If he had qualified at-bat-wise, Vientos would have finished third among major league third basemen in OPS (.844), second in homers (27) and slug (.516), and eighth in RBIs (77). All in approximately 50 fewer games than the pool.

He’s a budding star. And he’s leaving his mark on this improbable playoff run. Monday was another page in the book Vientos is writing, and the Dodgers might have awoken something in Vientos in Game 2 of the NLCS.

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