Jonathan Villar has been as close to slump-proof as any member of the Mets this season — a rarity within a lineup riddled by underachievement and inconsistency.
In an attempt to jump-start the offense, manager Luis Rojas inserted Villar at leadoff the last two days. The Mets found a spark Sunday, when the veteran infielder produced thunder in the middle innings, helping his team win a second straight game.
Villar’s two-run homer in the sixth, which followed a triple the previous inning, were two of the loudest hits in the Mets’ 9-4 victory over the Nationals at Citi Field.
A day after the Mets slugged three homers, Villar was joined by Javier Baez in going deep to lead an 11-hit attack. The Mets, who still have five games remaining against these depleted Nationals beginning Friday, won two of three in the series. They still trail the Braves by 7 ½ games in the NL East.
“I have confidence in the team, because we have the best team in 2021,” Villar said. “To me that is the best team because everybody is good hitting, good power, good positions, so I think we will have a lot of chances if we go out and play like that all the time.”
Villar finished 3-for-5, a day after collecting two hits in the leadoff spot in a 5-3 victory. He entered play with an .815 OPS for August.
Baez launched a two-run rocket that reached the second deck in left to give the Mets a 3-2 lead in the fourth. The homer was Baez’s fourth since joining the Mets at the trade deadline. Pete Alonso singled leading off the inning against Erick Fedde to begin the rally.
Alonso stroked an RBI single the following inning that extended the Mets’ lead to 4-2. Villar smashed a triple off the center-field fence and Brandon Nimmo was hit by a pitch before Alonso delivered for his 76th RBI of the season.
“We had good at-bats,” Baez said. “That is how I looked at the team when I got here. A winning team and all of the guys stay together most of the time and on the losing streak we didn’t change anything. We were the same in the clubhouse and we were just trying. We were just trying too much.”
Francisco Lindor’s movements off third base distracted Fedde enough to commit a balk in the first inning that gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. Lindor advanced to third on a passed ball following Alonso’s first of three singles in the game.
Josh Bell’s two-run homer in the fourth against Tylor Megill placed the Mets in a 2-1 hole. In the sixth, Juan Soto homered against Aaron Loup — it was the first blast surrendered this season by the left-hander.
In the sixth, Dominic Smith delivered a pinch-hit RBI single before Villar cleared the fence in left-center for his 15th homer of the season. Lindor’s two-run double in the eighth completed the scoring.
“We tried it [Saturday] and again today with Villar at the top and it’s worked out well,” Rojas said. “I’m just glad it has created more situations to score runs.”