Just when Jason Bay thought he was out, the slump pulled him back in.
The Mets left fielder went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in yesterday’s 7-3 loss to the Angels, breaking his four-game hitting streak. Bay appeared to be snapping out of the horrendous slump during which he batted .173 from April 28 to June 13, a span of 36 games, by collecting seven hits in those four games.
But that came to a screeching halt when Bay, like most of his teammates, was unable to figure out Angels starter Tyler Chatwood in yesterday’s Father’s Day matinee at Citi Field.
The closest Bay came to a hit was in the second inning when he ripped a line drive down the left-field line that landed foul by a matter of inches. Bay then struck out swinging.
“I felt pretty good,” Bay said. “Thought I had a double in the [second] inning, and after I saw the replay I still think I had a double. That hurt. I’m gonna get out, but I felt like my at-bats were good. Like I said, could’ve been a much different day had the call gone my way.”
Bay’s next three at-bats all resulted in inning-ending outs. He lined out to right to end the fourth, flew out to right with a runner on to end the sixth and struck out swinging to end the eighth with two men on.
Bay, batting .222 this season, said he believes this latest 0-fer was a one-time thing and not the start of another prolonged drought.
“I’m using my legs a little bit better instead of flailing with my arms,” Bay said.
Manager Terry Collins also sees progress in Bay’s approach.
“His pitch selection is better,” Collins said. “He’s being a lot more selective.”
Collins plans to keep Bay in the sixth spot in the lineup, where he was yesterday, rather than move him back to the fourth spot he was stinking up before his demotion.
“In a perfect world, I’d like him to hit fifth,” Collins said. “If he was really swinging good, with David [Wright] being out, I’d like him to hit third and let Carlos [Beltran] hit behind him, [but] I want him to relax and continue to hit sixth for now.”