Even at his lowest, Todd Frazier didn’t lose his confidence. He still considered himself the Mets’ starting third baseman, even if his playing time didn’t illustrate such standing.
It does now, and the Mets are thrilled about it.
Frazier continued his torrid stretch Sunday afternoon, hitting his third homer this month and driving in four runs to key a series-winning 6-1 victory over the Rockies at Citi Field.
“He’s been great, he’s been fantastic, making plays, making hard plays, making them look easy, swinging the bat well,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “He’s just doing everything right now.”
Twice, rookie sensation Pete Alonso was overeager, chasing breaking balls out of the strike zone with a runner on third and less than two outs, and twice Frazier picked him up. In the first inning, he jumped all over a 2-0 Jeff Hoffman fastball to give the Mets an early 3-0 lead. In the fifth, he waited on a backdoor breaking ball, and laced it into the left-field corner for a run-scoring double.
“I’ve been talking about it a lot,” Frazier said. “Pitch selection is huge, knowing situations and just being relaxed, keeping your mind set at the task at hand. My preparation has been key and my focus has been key.”
Frazier didn’t use the strained left oblique that cost him most of spring training as an excuse, but it clearly was a factor in his slow start. He struck out 17 times in his first 49 at-bats, and was rarely swinging at strikes. When he did, he was missing his pitch. His rhythm was out of whack.
“You try a little too hard,” he said. “I was trying to get four hits out of one at-bat.”
This was just the latest big game for Frazier. He’s hitting .346 with a 1.029 OPS in his last 23 games. That goes back to May 16. Two days before, Frazier was able to exhale. He wasn’t losing his job. Jed Lowrie suffered a setback in his rehab, straining his hamstring, and Frazier has produced across the board.
“You never know what would’ve happened if Lowrie came back,” Callaway said. “The good thing is Frazier is getting it done. It’s off the charts good.”
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