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Don’t be fooled by Mark Vientos’ ugly stat line to start the season.
Yes, even after his single in Tuesday’s 10-5 win over Miami at a frigid Citi Field, the third baseman is just 5-for-40 on the season with a pair of doubles and no homers.
But after the victory, Vientos insisted he’s not far off and he’s happy with his approach at the plate so far in this young season.
“I’m just trusting the process right now,’’ Vientos said. “I’m trying to focus on what I can control and that’s good at-bats. If I can keep having good at-bats, they’ll fall for me.”
Perhaps the grounder to right field on Tuesday was a sign of that, since for the second straight game, Vientos came up empty with a rocket liner to the outfield.
His 105-mph shot to lead off the bottom of the fourth turned into a line out to center on Tuesday a day after he was robbed of a hit to left in Monday’s win.
“[Monday] he had a few walks and smoked a ball and today he hit one [105] to center field,’’ Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s controlling the strike zone. There are good signs there that he’s coming around and I like the takes. He’s executing his game plan.”
Still, the start has left him with some unpleasant numbers, far off what he did in 2024, when he hit 27 homers in 111 games after taking over the third base job from Brett Baty.
And on Tuesday, he grounded to third twice, lined out to center and struck out before the base hit.
As he jogged to first on the single, Vientos stretched his arms out in apparent relief.
“I’m just having fun with the fun game and glad to have a hit,’’ Vientos said.
On Monday, president of baseball operations David Stearns said the organization hadn’t lost any confidence in Vientos — although he added he hoped he would cut down on chasing pitches outside the strike zone.
The metrics, though, show Vientos has been significantly more selective this year, and he said that’s one of the reasons he expects to break through soon.
“I don’t think I’m chasing at all,’’ Vientos said. “I feel really good at the plate. I’m seeing the ball good and putting good swings on the ball. It’s just baseball being baseball.”
Vientos has had some company with a sluggish start, as Baty has had a rough opening two weeks, as well, and the top half of the lineup — especially Pete Alonso — has carried the offense.
The team’s success has no doubt helped take some stress off the slumping members of the team.
“He’s preparing well, engaged and playing good defense,’’ Mendoza said. “You want to see some results as a competitor, but I haven’t seen any frustration from him.”
