Mark Vientos finds his confidence with go-ahead double to power Mets past Royals

New York Times

12-07-2025

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After looking at a sharp slider for a second strike, Mark Vientos briefly stepped out of the batter's box to slow things down and remind himself to take a simple approach. It had been another rough night with two ugly strikeouts, the second one frustrating Vientos so much that he slammed his bat on home plate. This time would be different.
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On the next offering from Kansas City Royals reliever Carlos Estévez, Vientos socked a slider to right field for a three-run double. His eighth inning extra-base hit with the bases loaded gave the New York Mets a one-run lead. The Mets added four more runs in the ninth to pull away for an 8-3 win at Kauffman Stadium on Friday night.
For much of the game, a lopsided win for the Mets seemed unlikely. Pete Alonso preceded Vientos' at-bat by breaking his bat over his right knee after striking out. It was that kind of night. For Alonso, who went 0-for-4 with a walk, RBI and three strikeouts. For the Mets, who had two hits before the eighth inning. And for Vientos, who had yet to record one RBI in 10 games since returning from the injured list on June 27 (.118 batting average during the span).
'I got the opportunity twice,' Vientos said, referencing his bases-loaded strikeout to end the third inning, 'it was good to redeem myself the second time.'
SWAGGY V FOR THE LEAD! 😤 pic.twitter.com/TY3LIA3xuz
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 12, 2025
The Mets (54-41) needed it. Vientos needed it more.
Confidence is as integral a part of Vientos' game as the ghost-fork pitch is to the returning Kodai Senga, who threw four scoreless innings while on a pitch limit (he tallied 67) in his first start after a hamstring injury cost him a month. After breaking out last year with 27 home runs plus five more in the postseason, Vientos oozed confidence when he arrived for spring training. He expected himself to do well.
Maybe too well.
'In the beginning of the year, it was kind of like, 'Oh, I did it last year, and I'm going to do better this year,'' Vientos said recently. 'I don't think it was a bad thing. I think it's a good thing. But the bad out of it was expecting no type of adversity. There, I got caught off guard a little bit.'
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Reality hit the 25-year-old hard and in the form of tantalizing pitches that he just couldn't lay off or do much damage against. Before a hamstring injury sidelined him, he had six home runs and a .678 OPS through his first 208 plate appearances.
While recovering, Vientos came to some realizations. For one, he said, 'If you thought you were going to come into the league again, especially the big leagues, and think that it was going to be a walk in the park, you have another thing coming.' When Vientos returned from the injured list, he was humbled.
Vientos entered Friday 4-for-his-last-34 with 11 strikeouts, no walks and one extra-base hit. He had hit some recent balls hard, but too much of his contact happened on the ground.
Meanwhile, the Mets started to receive production from Ronny Mauricio (.879 OPS over his last 12 games heading into Friday) and Brett Baty (.821 OPS over his last 12 games heading into Friday) in a crowded infield picture, particularly at third base, Vientos' primary position. Of the three, Vientos is the third-best fielder. He needs to earn playing time with his powerful right-handed bat, which rarely experienced a prolonged slump last season.
With Starling Marte (knee) still out and Jesse Winker (back inflammation) returning to the injured list, Vientos started at designated hitter Friday. Marte expects to return after the All-Star break, but Winker's outlook is murkier, at least for now.
Perhaps no one in the Mets' lineup needed a big final weekend before the second half — and with the trade deadline less than three weeks away — more than Vientos, who added an opposite-field single in the ninth inning.
'Especially as a young player, comes here last year, has a hell of a year and is a big part of this team all the way to the playoffs, and then not having the type of season that he anticipated,' Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. 'But that's part of being a big-league player. You have to go through the ups and downs.
'You have to find a way to keep fighting. And he's done that, to his credit. And just the confidence part, understanding and knowing that he is a really good big-league hitter. It was just good to see him do that today.'