NEW YORK -- Luis Robert Jr. reached below the strike zone, dropping his bat head toward the ground before swooping it skyward. It was the finest swing of his fledgling Mets career, a violent uppercut showcasing every bit of the natural talent that Mets officials spent their offseason dreaming on.
In an unfamiliar ballpark, on a frigid evening that saw hitters from both sides struggle to produce, Robert couldn’t be sure his ball would clear the fence. When it finally cut through the wind and landed safely on the other side, Robert’s new teammates poured out of the dugout to meet him at home plate. It was his second career walk-off, a three-run homer that gave the Mets a 4-2 win over the Pirates at Citi Field, ending a trying afternoon for them on the highest possible note.
“He’s talented. He’s gifted,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Even that last one there, I thought the pitcher executed. It was down-and-away, and he goes and gets it. With the conditions today, with the way the wind was blowing, especially from left field? To be able to leave the yard like that in that situation, it goes to show you that this guy is special.”
When the Mets acquired Robert from the White Sox in January, they had little doubt about his raw, natural talent. The only question was whether Robert might stay healthy enough to show it. And while Robert cannot prove himself over less than 2 percent of the season, he can provide glimpses into his upside. He can also show the Mets how different their new-look lineup might be from those that came before.
Last year, the Mets were infamously 0-70 on the season when trailing after eight innings. They needed just two games of the 2026 campaign to show, as Mendoza put it, that this is “a different group.”
Unable to score all afternoon against Pirates starter Mitch Keller and three relievers, New York eventually fell behind when Nick Gonzales singled home an automatic runner in the 10th. Almost immediately, though, the Mets battled back, tying things on a Luis Torrens RBI hit in the bottom of the inning.
Half an inning later, the Pirates took another lead on a Bryan Reynolds swinging bunt that trickled down the third-base line -- the type of hit that causes players and managers to throw up their hands in exasperation.
But the Mets did not succumb to some preordained fate. Instead, Jorge Polanco -- another new Met -- added some pressure on Pirates reliever Hunter Barco with his fourth walk of the game. That brought up Robert, who took a ball out of the zone before launching himself toward an 83 mph slider. It careened off his bat, soared through the air and landed in the Coors Light Fiesta Deck in left-center for Robert’s first walk-off homer since 2020.
“It’s real special, honestly,” he said through an interpreter. “To be able to do it here? These last two games have really been special.”
For the Mets, they’ve both been victories, with Robert’s fingerprints all over them. On Opening Day, Robert reached base safely three times, collecting a pair of hits, driving home two runs and scoring another. Two days later, he continued to showcase his refined plate approach with a seventh-inning walk, before producing a far more memorable moment in the 11th.
“I faced him a lot in spring, and I was getting real tired of facing him,” Mets starter David Peterson said. “So it was nice to see from the dugout him do that. He’s been dialed in since he got here.”
Team-wise, Peterson added, the extra-inning comebacks showed “an early sign of resilience” from these Mets, who were anything but resilient last summer. Mendoza offered a bit of gallows humor, flashing a wry smile when he said, “It was just good to get that [first comeback] out of the way.”
The hope for these Mets is that Robert can stay healthy, taking part in many more late-game moments alongside Polanco, Bo Bichette and other new Mets. Time will tell if that vision can become reality.
In the meantime, Robert will enjoy his early place in all this. Shortly after his walk-off, he sat by his locker, scrolling through the various messages lighting up his phone.
“A lot of friends, a lot of family members were excited by the moment, excited by the result,” Robert said, flashing a grin. “Yeah, it was a lot.”