NEW YORK — Brett Baty didn’t have to be here. Under different circumstances, he certainly would not be. Late last month, the Mets demoted Baty to Triple-A Syracuse, in a move that was largely based on merit. The team had a roster crunch. Baty had not hit well enough to maintain a roster spot. It was that simple.
But fate had other plans for Baty, who returned two weeks later when Jesse Winker strained his right oblique. Suddenly back in the Majors, Baty has transformed seemingly overnight into a different type of hitter. Over his last four starts, he has four home runs, including a go-ahead solo shot Tuesday night in the Mets’ 2-1 win over the Pirates at Citi Field.
Overall since returning, Baty is 6-for-17 (.353) with four homers and seven RBIs. Small sample or not, it has been Baty’s finest stretch as a big leaguer.
Brandon Nimmo also drove home a run for the Mets in the victory, Kodai Senga pitched effectively into the sixth, Max Kranick delivered a perfect seventh to pick up the win and Edwin Díaz nailed down the ninth for the save.
