Monday was game one of an intense series between the New York Mets (38-19), the best team in the National League, and the dominant San Diego Padres (33-22). The biggest story of their Monday night matchup was the Mets’ third baseman Eduardo Escobar who hit for the cycle in a huge 11-5 victory.
A Rough Start
Eduardo Escobar has been in the MLB for a long time. His first true season in the majors came in 2012 and has been one of the premier infielders in all of baseball during his time across the big leagues. Since the 2013 season, Escobar has hit above .250 in all but three seasons meaning he consistently gets hits.
2022 is his first season with the Mets and unfortunately, it hasn’t gone exactly as expected. Coming into Monday’s game he was only hitting .227 with four homers and 18 RBIs. It has been a struggle early on in this season, but he may have turned it around.
A Career Performance
The Mets came into their series against the Padres having just taken the last two of a four-game series from the Los Angeles Dodgers. They needed to put the pressure on another great National League West team.
First Inning
With former Cy Young Blake Snell on the mound for the Padres, the Mets needed some early offense. In the first inning, after three straight walks from Snell with two outs, Escobar stepped to the plate with a prime opportunity to do some damage. On a 1-1 pitch, he lined a ball into right field for a two-run single to put the Mets up 3-0.
Fourth Inning
In the top of the 4th, Escobar led off the inning with a double. He ended up scoring on a Brandon Nimmo two-out single to put the Mets up 4-1.
Eighth Inning
The Mets still held a three-run lead as they went into the top of the 8th with a 5-2 lead. After a leadoff single by J.D. Davis, Escobar came to the plate. On a full-count pitch, he launched a ball into the right-field seats for a two-run homer to push the Mets’ lead to 7-2.
He now had to hope for one more at-bat to try and get the hardest part of the cycle: the triple.
Ninth Inning
The Padres continued to battle. Luke Voit hit a huge three-run homer to cut into the Mets’ lead. The game moved into the top of the 9th with a score of 7-5. The Mets aimed to push their lead back up.
Escobar came up to bat with two on and two outs. On an 0-2 count he ripped a ball to the right-field wall. A wild bounce sent the ball away from right fielder Nomar Marzara allowing Escobar to get to third base with ease for a triple to complete the cycle.
Escobar finished the day 4-5 with a homer, six RBIs and three runs scored.
History
Escobar joins Milwaukee Brewers slugger Christian Yelich as the only players to hit for the cycle so far this season.
This was the 11th cycle in Mets history and the first since Scott Hairston did it against the Colorado Rockies on April 27, 2012.
For Escobar, this was his first career cycle. Despite his struggles, it was the second time in the past two weeks that he had a four-hit game. He also did it on May 24 against the San Fransisco Giants. A less common occurrence, this was the first time since May 15, 2021, against the Washington Nationals, that he had six or more RBI in a game.
This was an extremely dominant performance for Eduardo Escobar. He found himself in quite the rut for the majority of the first two months, but this is the type of game that can get a player back on track. Baseball fans are very aware of what he is capable of. If he gets hot it will take this Mets team to an even higher level of dominance.
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