That bat has a family! pic.twitter.com/36pJU3RRL3
— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2019
Five innings. Two runs. Six strikouts. One snapped bat.
That’s Conner Menez’s statline from a strong major league debut Sunday, when he allowed two home runs but frustrated Mets batters through 84 pitches. The 24-year-old from Hollister, without a big arm but with four pitches and a deceptive delivery, seemed to irritate Pete Alonso the most Sunday at Oracle Park.
The Mets’ big-time power hitter and likely Rookie of the Year watched five Menez pitches in the third – a few fastballs, a curve, a slider – before a 91-mph heater struck him out.
The bat having failed him, Alonso sacrificed it with a swift right-knee shot.
From one rookie to another, that’s respect.