Bo Bichette had the kind of night every Mets fan has been waiting for him to have.
The first-year Met went deep twice, including a grand slam, and drove in six runs in a 7-5 win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday. It was one of the most complete offensive performances of his career, and it came in exactly the kind of national spotlight game his contract was supposed to be tailored for.
The Mets needed a marquee win. They had been treading water for two weeks. Bichette grabbed the front of the boat and pulled.
The Performance
The grand slam came in a tied middle inning. Bichette worked a long at-bat against a Braves reliever, fouled off two pitches, and turned on a fastball that did not get inside enough. The ball cleared the wall in left center. The crowd at Citi Field came unglued.
The second home run was a more conventional pull-side shot. Two-strike count. A breaking ball that did not break enough. Bichette put a swing on it that ended the at-bat the moment the ball left the bat.
Six RBIs in a single game is significant in any era. Doing it against the Braves, against quality pitching, in front of a sold-out crowd, in mid-June, makes it a marker moment.
What This Means for the Mets
The Mets signed Bichette to be a foundational piece of the lineup. The transition has not been smooth. He was hitting under .240 entering Friday night. The press in New York had started to whisper about whether the signing was a mistake.
One game does not erase a slow start. But a game like this can absolutely turn the page on a slump. Hitters get hot in bunches. Confidence is real. Bichette’s swing looked dialed in for the first time all season on Friday night. If he carries this into the next two weeks, the Mets are a different team.
Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and Francisco Lindor have been carrying the offense. Adding a hot Bichette to the lineup gives Carlos Mendoza four legitimate run producers in his middle infield, which is the kind of depth that makes a team a true contender.
The Bigger NL East Picture
The Braves are still leading the division. Atlanta has been good despite their own issues. The Mets are within striking distance, and any sustained hot streak from a player as talented as Bichette can swing momentum quickly.
The Phillies are still in the race. The Nationals are surprising people. The Marlins are not, but they are at least competitive. The NL East is going to be a four-team scrap for the next three months.
Friday night was a notice game. The Mets put the league on notice that Bichette is starting to figure it out, that the lineup can be terrifying when it is fully synced up, and that the team has real championship-level talent when everything clicks.
What Has to Happen Next
Bichette needs to stay on the ball the way he did Friday. He needs to keep his strikeouts down. He needs to keep punishing pitchers who try to challenge him with fastballs.
If he does, the Mets become the second-best offense in the National League almost overnight. They have not been that this season because Bichette has not been Bichette. Friday’s game suggests that might be changing.
One game does not make a season. But it sure can change the trajectory of one. Mets fans should be a little more optimistic this morning than they were Friday afternoon.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
