NEW YORK -- Before the start of Saturday's Subway Series game against the Yankees, Mets hitting coach Kevin Long reiterated to Juan Lagares the importance of swinging at strikes. Chasing balls outside the zone was a significant reason why Lagares had racked up seven strikeouts in his previous four games, those struggles masked in large part by the tail end of a 10-game hitting streak.
With that lesson in mind, Lagares said, he focused on plate discipline during Saturday's 8-2 win over the Yankees. So he did not consider it much of a coincidence when he came away with four hits in four at-bats, scoring three times and driving in a run.