Neon Moment of the Week: Rosario’s Big Game
At the end of the 2018 season, it seemed like Amed Rosario was starting to figure things out, and as a result, many believed he was going to break out. After all, through all of his troubles, Rosario was still immensely talented, and he was just 23 years old.
Through the Mets first road trip and homestand, we had seen some signs Rosario was a much-improved player. He was swinging at fewer pitches outside of the strike zone and seeing more pitches in his plate appearances. When he made contact, he had a higher exit velocity. These were all indications that he had a better plan at the plate. Rosario was waiting for his pitch, and he was ready to drive the ball somewhere when he got it.
In Thursday’s game against the Braves, we saw all of Rosario’s improvements lead to impressive results.
In the top of the second inning, with the Mets down 1-0, Rosario launched a three-run home run to right center field. According to MLB Barrel, it had an exit velocity of 101.8 MPH, and it had a 28-degree launch angle. Put more simply, he got all of it, and he gave the Mets a 3-1 lead.
In the sixth inning, Rosario came up with two on, two out, and a fresh reliever out of the bullpen. Rosario hit an opposite-field single increasing the Mets lead at the time to 4-2. With the Mets winning this game 6-3, Rosario provided Steven Matz and the Mets bullpen with all the run support they needed to pull out the win.
With that big game under his belt, Rosario is now hitting .283/.353/.435 with two doubles, a triple, homer, and 10 RBI. Although this is a small sample size, this gives us an indication Rosario is figuring things out, and he is about to have a true breakout season in 2019. If so, the Mets chances of winning the division is even better than originally anticipated, and that right there is why this was the Neon Moment of the Week!
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