Jason Bay has been looking for one swing to hang his confidence on, just one swing that could turn around the slump that has started his tenure as a Met.
But as much as he tried, that swing did not come last night against at Citi Field, when he went 0-for-4 and the Mets beat the Cubs, 5-2, winning their first series of the season.
As the players that sandwich his cleanup spot in the lineup, David Wright batting third and Jeff Francouer fifth, both busted out of their offensive doldrums by driving in key runs, Bay’s slump became even more glaring.
“It definitely helps,” Bay said of Wright and Francoeur’s two combined RBIs that put the Mets up for good in the sixth inning. “But at the same time, when you’re not swinging the bat all that great, it doesn’t all of sudden change your mindset.”
Only perpetuating Bay’s frustration was his 23rd strikeout of the year, coming in the second inning when he was caught looking at a Tom Gorzelanny changeup. The putout made Bay second in the National League in strikeouts, behind only Cameron Maybin of the Marlins, who has 24.
“I do feel, just from the opposition, is that he’s a very good fastball hitter,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “When he comes to the plate, they throw everything but the kitchen sink other than fastballs. The thing I can do to help him is put someone in front or behind him to ensure he gets those pitches.”
Bay got the support from the surrounding lineup last night, and the results for him were the same. In the 21 pitches he saw in his four at-bats, he looked at 13 fastballs (four of the sinking variety) and put them in play twice, weakly popping out to center in the fourth and to the catcher in the eighth. (He also flied out to center on slider in the sixth.) He is 3-for-20 in the past six games, and has only three RBIs and no home runs this season.
“Sometimes it just takes one swing [to break out of the slump]; it’s kind of like your body does everything it’s supposed to at one time,” Bay said. “Right now all I can say is it’s not there.”