ATLANTA — Jeff McNeil benefited from a late surge last season and he again was enjoying an August bounce — at least until he went 0-for-4 Wednesday in a 7-0 loss to the Braves.
The Mets utilityman entered the game on a seven-game hitting streak and was 24-for-65 (.369) with a .908 OPS over his previous 16 games.
He had at least one hit in 15 of those games.
“I don’t think there is any one set reason,” manager Buck Showalter said. “You can talk about selectivity, I think he’s hit the ball the other way a lot, not trying to hit home runs. … I just think more than anything it’s a real good hitter starting to reach his track record. Sooner or later it was going to happen.”
McNeil won the National League batting title last season with a .326 batting average, largely on the strength of an August in which he hit .385/.414/.560.
This season, McNeil began with an underwhelming four-month stretch and had an anemic .658 OPS as July concluded.
Sean Reid-Foley was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse in his return to the Mets after he had Tommy John surgery in May of last year. The right-hander was acquired from the Blue Jays in the Steven Matz trade and appeared in 19 games for the Mets as a reliever over two seasons before he tore his ulnar collateral ligament.
“It was pretty upsetting, but, hey, now we’re here, so it’s OK,” Reid-Foley said before he pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning with one strikeout.
He has shaved his trademark mustache recently, but said it’s not permanent.
“After my week in Scranton I had to get rid of it,” Reid-Foley said, referring to two rough outings. “I didn’t deserve it, but it will be back.”
Reed Garrett was optioned to Syracuse and Tyson Miller was designated for assignment to create roster space for Reid-Foley.
Edwin Diaz threw off a bullpen mound Wednesday, according to Showalter, and team officials are now considering whether he is ready for the next step in his progression. Diaz is rehabbing from right patellar tendon surgery in March, and a September return for the All-Star closer hasn’t been ruled out.
Pete Alonso, who went 0-for-4, has nine homers in 23 games this month.
His career-best for homers in a month is 11, in 27 games in September 2019.
He has 39 homers overall this season, third in the major leagues behind Shohei Ohtani and Matt Olson.
Kodai Senga, Carlos Carrasco and David Peterson is the likely pitching alignment for this weekend’s series against the Angels at Citi Field, according to Showalter.
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