Wilmer Flores quieted his many doubters — for one night at least.
The Mets shortstop delivered one of the biggest swings of the night — a monstrous three-run, fifth-inning homer to erase an early deficit — and handled every play that came his way in his team’s 7-5 victory over the Marlins, the Mets’ fifth straight win, Thursday night at Citi Field.
When Flores stepped to the plate with two men on in the home fifth and sent a first-pitch fastball from Jarred Cosart well into the left-field seats, it stunned the thin home crowd, erasing a 3-0 deficit. It was, by far, Flores’ biggest swing of the young season, bringing in his first three RBIs of the year.
“It was huge. It was huge for all parties,” Mets outfielder Michael Cuddyer said. “It was huge for the team, obviously first and foremost, huge for him to able to come up in a situation like that and hit a three-run homer to tie the game when we weren’t doing much off Cosart. That got us into the game, and that’s a huge reason why we won tonight.”
The 93 mph cut fastball was in a good spot, over the inner half of the plate. But Flores turned on it, driving the ball well over the wall.
“I got the pitch I was looking for,” he said. “I put a good swing on it and it went out.”
The 23-year-old Venezuelan slowly was showing strides even before the homer, shaking off his defensive woes and putting together better at-bats. Flores hasn’t made an error in his last six games, after committing three in a two-game span, and his bat — the reason he’s in the lineup in the first place — is starting to perk up after a 2-for-16 start. He has now hit safely in three of his last four games, and is looking more comfortable after chasing so many poor pitches over the season’s first week.
“Tonight might really jump-start Wilmer,” Mets manager Terry Collins said.
There were a myriad of questions about Flores before the season began, criticism the Mets didn’t find a shortstop in the offseason when the need was so obviously there. The Mets have been steadfast in their belief in Flores, that his bat would make up for his defensive shortcomings and he would develop into a quality defender.
Thursday night is exactly what general manager Sandy Alderson and the Mets must have imagined when they went with Flores this year: Adequate defense at shortstop, a big swing at the plate, and a Mets victory.
“It’s going to help [my confidence],” Flores said. “The other at-bats [tonight] I was more relaxed. It’s going to help tomorrow, too. It’s big. It’s big every time you start helping your team on offense. You feel good. “It’s good to start [getting] my offense going.”