TORONTO — Francisco Alvarez hit a walk-off homer to beat the Orioles just over three weeks ago, but the resurgence from the catcher the Mets had hoped would follow never materialized.
It took another 25 days for Alvarez to hit his next homer, with the drought ending in Wednesday’s ninth inning when he cleared the center-field fence at Rogers Centre.
The three-run blast gave the Mets a cushion in their 6-2 victory over the Blue Jays, after Alvarez and his teammates had been no-hit for eight innings against Bowden Francis.
“It meant a lot [to Alvarez],” said Francisco Lindor, whose homer leading off the ninth gave the Mets their first hit and tied it 1-1. “I felt the way he gave me a hug [and exhaled]. He’s been trying. He’s been working extremely hard, and sometimes it doesn’t go his way.”
Alvarez has posted a brutal .480 OPS since the All-Star break, which wouldn’t be so pronounced if most of the Mets lineup was producing.
But the Mets haven’t found consistent contributors beyond Lindor and Mark Vientos.
A third member of the lineup that was enjoying a strong second half, Jeff McNeil, sustained a fractured right wrist when he was hit by a pitch last Friday and will miss the remainder of the regular season.
How rough has it been for Alvarez?
The homer he delivered Wednesday gave him an extra-base hit for the first time since the walk-off against the Orioles on Aug. 19.
“Don’t open my hips too much, stayed closed, I think that is most important to me,” Alvarez said when asked about his focus in the batting cage.
“I really feel my hips are very strong, and now I am much stronger I think and they are faster, so I have to control them. The last two months I have not controlled them real well. Now I am learning how to do it.”
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After Lindor’s homer in the ninth, the Mets went ahead 3-1 on sacrifice flies by Pete Alonso and Starling Marte.
Just about all doubt was removed regarding the outcome when Alvarez jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Genesis Cabrera and clobbered it for his seventh homer of the season.
“The bigger thing for me is catching, and I like to help my pitchers, so I give a better chance for the team to win,” Alvarez said.
