MLB

Red-hot Francoeur waiting for rest of Mets’ lineup

DENVER — Jeff Francoeur credits six weeks of hard work in spring training for the manner in which he is scorching the baseball.

The Mets’ hottest hitter had two more hits yesterday — raising his batting average to .438 — helping his team end a four-game losing streak by beating the Rockies 5-0 at Coors Field.

Francoeur has at least one hit in each of the Mets’ nine games this season. David Wright, with a 14-game streak to start 2007, holds the club record for longest hitting streak to begin a season.

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“I don’t know if I’ve felt this locked in . . . in a long time,” Francoeur said. “I just feel relaxed and trying to help us out right now.”

Francoeur singled as part of the Mets’ two-run fourth inning against Jorge De La Rosa, then singled in the fifth. Francoeur leads the team with seven RBIs and is tied with Wright for the team lead in homers with three.

“It’s one of those things we worked in spring training — I spent a lot of hours in the cage with Jerry [Manuel],” Francoeur said. “We did some drills where he would throw the ball everywhere and make me swing at it. He would throw it over my head and make me swing at it. Then I’d pick a spot where I wanted it and he’d make me swing.

“I really think that stuff is starting to pay off. It feels good to do that.”

Francoeur doesn’t expect to be a one-man show for the Mets’ lineup this season. He said it’s only a matter of time before the entire lineup makes some serious noise.

“We have some guns in here,” Francoeur said. “We can bust loose and score nine or 10 runs for three or four straight games. There’s no doubt we can do that.”