MIAMI -- His Mets trailing by a run in the eighth inning on Tuesday, Asdrubal Cabrera was wary of giving away a prime opportunity to reach first base. He was ahead in the count, 3-0, against Marlins reliever Kyle Barraclough. Unless Barraclough threw him a fastball down the middle, Cabrera wasn't going to swing.
The next pitch came down the heart of the plate at 95 mph and Cabrera didn't miss it, crushing a game-tying homer 406 feet to the upper deck in right field at Marlins Park. It was the last momentum surge the Mets needed before taking the lead for good an inning later in their 8-6 win.
"It gave me an opportunity to jump on the fastball," Cabrera said, crediting manager Mickey Callaway for giving him the green light. "In that situation, I think that was the only good pitch I would see."
Since going 0-for-4 on Opening Day, Cabrera has strung together a nine-game hitting streak to push his average to .341. That included solo homers on Tuesday from batting right- and left-handed, the second of which tied the game in the eighth. Cabrera went deep in the fourth inning as well, marking the 22nd time a Met has homered from both sides of the plate. Cabrera was also the last to do it, in 2016.
"It feels good when you help the team to win," Cabrera said. "Anything you can do."