NEW YORK -- For A.J. Ewing, catharsis took the form of a 21-second trot around the bases.
Entering Saturday, it had been 46 games, 59 days and 209 plate appearances since Ewing last homered, his July 8 shot against the Royals marking the rookie’s third long ball in four days. In the time between, Ewing hit .197 with an OPS barely above .500, prompting countless questions about his first career slump.
Few around the Mets doubted Ewing’s ability to hit his way out of it. But it was going to take time, and it was going to take work.
In recent days, Ewing had at least begun to show signs of life at the plate: his first extra-base hit in weeks last Sunday, followed by a two-hit game the following day. But nothing quite compared to the 407-foot blast Ewing hit off Anthony Molina on Saturday in the second inning of a 9-5 loss to the Giants at Citi Field.
“From his perspective,” interim manager Andy Green said, “he had a really nice game.”
Batting with two outs and a man on first, Ewing worked the count to 2-1 before Molina fed him an 87 mph changeup just below the strike zone. Ewing lowered his barrel and smashed the pitch into the visiting bullpen for his second extra-base hit in three and a half weeks.
“It felt good to feel that contact again,” Ewing said.
At the start of Ewing’s downturn, thoughts of a slump had to have been far from his mind. On the morning of July 9, Ewing was batting .279 with an .812 OPS, showing off surprising power to go along with strong center-field defense, an advanced plate approach and excellent speed -- all three of those his calling cards as a prospect.
Then, something changed. Whether due to the fatigue of a long season, the league adjusting to his approach, his confidence betraying him or some other, unseen factor, Ewing slipped into the deepest slump of his professional career. After featuring a strikeout rate of 24.9% and a walk rate of 10.7% over his first 53 games as a big leaguer, Ewing produced numbers of 27.9% and 7.4% over his next 46 contests.
While those shifts may have seemed subtle, they hinted at a breakdown of the approach that made Ewing, who turned 22 years old last month, such a polished prospect in the first place. Over time, Mets officials took notice, easing Ewing out of the leadoff spot against left-handed pitchers, then more recently versus righties. Earlier this week, Green stacked multiple off-days for Ewing, giving him almost 70 hours of rest between appearances. Saturday marked Ewing’s first day back.
He finished 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored, reaching base safely multiple times for the third time in his last five games. Green said he was more encouraged by the walks than the homer, because of what that means for the rookie’s plate approach.
“It’s definitely hard not to go up there and try to chase hits, but that’s kind of the mental side of the game where you really just have to be zoned into your approach,” Ewing said. “Take it with an attitude that I’m on a 20-game hitting streak no matter what.”
It’s hardly unusual for rookies -- even successful ones -- to struggle; just ask Mets starter Zac Thornton, who allowed four homers and six total runs on Saturday to take the worst loss of his own young career. Given that the Mets are out of contention, team officials don’t mind seeing players grind through issues at the Major League level. To the contrary, they want to gauge if their brightest young players can overcome rough patches, much like Rookie of the Year candidates Carson Benge and Nolan McLean did earlier this season.
“I think you get stronger from going through adversity if you use it appropriately,” Green said. “We try really hard as an organization to instill that in guys. We don’t look at tough stretches as losses or failures. We look at it as learning that you stand on to go to your next level of greatness.”