Bichette Breaks Out, Homers, Drives in Five
Hopefully, this was a glimpse of what’s to come.
Bo Bichette is expected to hit third this season behind Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, meaning he will probably get a lot of RBI opportunities. He was batting third Tuesday (behind Lindor and Marcus Semien) and made the most of his chances with runners on base.
Bichette doubled in two with a shot (104.2 mph exit velocity) down the left-field line off Sandy Alcantara in the third. He added an opposite-field, three-run homer off lefty Robby Snelling (Marlins No. 8 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) in the seventh. The Mets (11-9-2) tied the Marlins 5-5 in Jupiter, Fla.
Bichette slashed .329/.378/.528 in 246 at-bats with runners on for the Blue Jays last year. Overall, he hit .311/.357/.483. He led Toronto in RBIs (94), hits (181) and doubles (44). (The Mets’ franchise record for doubles is 44 by Bernard Gilkey in 1996.)
Bichette is the son of four-time All-Star Dante Bichette, a career .299 hitter who led the National League in hits twice and home runs and RBIs once.
“So the first thing I taught Bo was how to hit the inside pitch, to hit it the other way,” Dante Bichette told John Harper for SNY last week. “Then the slider down and away – hit that one. I always felt, learn to hit the real tough pitch. Hitting the fat one is easy.”
Bo Bichette is slashing .330/.377/.527 for his career (771 plate appearances) with runners in scoring position. The batting average is third among active players, behind Luis Arráez (.349) and Freddie Freeman (.332), Harper reported. He led the majors last year with a .381 batting average with RISP.
“There’s a lot that goes into being clutch,” Dante Bichette told Harper. “I do believe that some guys are better at keeping their mind from speeding up, because once you speed up, you can’t grab your breath and all the sudden you’re thinking about making an out or not coming through, which means you’re not thinking correctly.”
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