CINCINNATI — Jeff McNeil hasn’t had much success in the first five games of the season, collecting just one hit and dropping to seventh place, getting into an argument with Reece Hoskins and helping the Mets’ offense slump. It became a face.
But his teammates didn’t ignore the 2022 batting champion.
In fact, one of his teammates wrote a letter encouraging McNeil, who may have snapped out of his funk.
On Friday afternoon, Brandon Nimmo carved a message for McNeil into the bag of his batting glove. “Swing at the good pitches and hit the bad pitches.”
McNeil followed the technically sound advice and ultimately hit his first home run of the year deep into the right field seats in the bottom of the eighth inning, a much-needed insurance run.
“That felt good,” McNeil said shortly after getting his second hit of the season to help the Mets beat the Reds 3-2 at Great American Ball Park. He said, “He wasn’t swinging the bat as well as he wanted, so it was great for him to get a hit.”
McNeil entered the at-bat 1-for-18 after a season in which he was 0-for-13 in the Grapefruit League.
Nimmo. Mark W. Sanchez/New York Post
His spring was interrupted by bicep soreness and his offseason was interrupted by a partially torn UCL, injuries that likely contributed to his lackluster 2023 in which he hit just .270. There is sex.
Manager Carlos Mendoza reminded McNeil that he hit .326 to win the batting title in 2022 and that McNeil’s teammates have been trying to maintain his confidence.
“It was tough,” McNeil admitted. “It’s hard trying to stay positive when things aren’t going your way. So it’s great to have a team with so many players supporting you. You’re going to get fewer hits.”
Friday’s hits fell, but McNeil managed to get hits where they weren’t.
“There’s no one in the right field seats,” he said with a smile.
The Mets have officially added their nemesis to the rotation, but Julio Teheran, who made his starting debut on Monday, may go unnoticed.
Teheran was a weapon for the Braves from 2011 to 2019, starting 30 games against the Mets and posting a career 3.24 ERA.
Teheran reinvented himself after a right shoulder strain sidelined him for most of the 2021 season and kept him out of MLB for the remainder of 2022.
His old slider is now a cutter.
His two-seamer “somehow ran a little more,” he said. His changeup is new.
The 33-year-old posted a 3.38 ERA with the Orioles this spring, but did not make the team and opted out of his minor league contract.
He continued to pitch in Miami, facing free agent hitters like Jean Segura and Yuli Gurriel, hitters who had watched him for years and hitters who said he looked brand new.
“This is completely different from when they played me before,” Teheran said Friday as he reported to his new team. “New pitch, everything looks new.”
The Mets have found a new fifth starter and are expected to slide into the rotation starting Monday in Atlanta. Injuries to Kodai Chiga and Tyler Megill created a need, and the Mets continued to have interest in Teheran.
He said he had to decide between the Mets and Orioles as his team this spring and felt he had a better chance with Baltimore, but injuries have changed that equation.
Teheran continues to throw and is expected to be able to throw 70 to 75 pitches on Monday, Mendoza said.
This will be the third time in his career he will face the Braves.
This will be his first time pitching for the Mets, which he once struggled with.
“I feel weird,” Teheran said. “I don’t even realize I’m on this side right now.”
J.D. Martinez, who was at bat in simulated games and live batting practice at the Mets’ facility, officially joined Low-A St. Lucie on Friday and went 0-for-4 with one walk while serving as the designated hitter.
Mendoza said Martinez will likely play again at St. Lucie on Saturday and will likely have Sunday off.
The team and its slugger are scheduled to discuss this weekend when he might be ready to join the Major League Baseball Mets.
“The last thing we want to do is rush this guy,” Mendoza said.
Nimmo felt tightness in his right hamstring while running the bases in the first inning of Thursday’s second game of a doubleheader and was sidelined.
Thanks to Nimmo serving as DH, we were able to finish the game. Mendoza said Nimmo felt “much better” on Friday and he could be back in action on Saturday.
The Mets did not send Nimmo for an MRI.
“I believe I dodged a bullet here,” Mendoza said.
To create a roster spot in Tehran, the Mets selected Michael Tonkin.
The 34-year-old right-hander appeared in just three games for the Mets, making him one of the last players left on the opening day roster.
He allowed eight runs (two earned) in four innings, including a wild three-run 11th inning that led to the Mets’ loss at the front of Thursday afternoon’s doubleheader.
The Reds held a moment of silence for pitcher Pat Zachry, who won Rookie of the Year with Cincinnati in 1976 and was traded to the Mets the following year for infamous Tom Seaver.
Zachry, who pitched for the Mets from 1977 to 1982 and was an All-Star in 1978, died Thursday at the age of 71 in Waco, Texas.
