NEW YORK -- Certain awards suit certain players. For years, Jacob deGrom pined for a Cy Young Award plaque; to see him take home two in a row in 2018-19 seemed only natural. When Pete Alonso won the Major League home run crown in 2019, that tracked.

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For Jeff McNeil, one of the finest contact hitters in the game today, the batting title has always been the prize. It’s a secondary goal to team success, of course. But if McNeil can finish it off as the Mets close out their regular season, he said recently, “that’s the one award I think would be pretty prestigious for me.”

“That’s kind of one that’s attainable,” McNeil added. “That’s something that I really want to do someday.”

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“Someday” may be coming into clearer focus, as McNeil rapped out three more hits in the Mets’ doubleheader sweep over the Nationals at Citi Field, demonstrating the various ways in which he can attack a pitcher. In the first inning of the 4-2 matinee, McNeil pulled a ground-rule double down the right-field line, then sprinted hard to beat out a routine ground ball to shortstop CJ Abrams in the third. In the 8-0 nightcap, McNeil clubbed a homer to the second deck in right to go back-to-back-to-back with Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor, marking the first time in franchise history the Mets have opened a game with three consecutive homers.

“Mac’s been something,” manager Buck Showalter said. “To have a chance to lead the National League in hitting, what an accomplishment. My gosh. That is so hard. These are the best hitters in the world. To have one sitting here is special.”

McNeil went 3-for-8 in the doubleheader, bringing his average to .326. He had passed the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman for first place in the MLB batting race early Tuesday morning, staying up late to watch him go 0-for-4 in a game against the Rockies. With one day left in the regular season and Freeman mired in a minor slump (he went 0-for-4 against Colorado again Tuesday night), it’s now McNeil who holds a slight edge.

1. McNeil, .326
2. Freeman, .322
3. Paul Goldschmidt, .317

Eleven years after José Reyes won the first batting title in Mets history, McNeil has a chance to take home the second. But the circumstances surrounding McNeil’s chase are slightly different. In 2011, the out-of-contention Mets had the luxury of catering to Reyes’ needs in the final days of the season. When Reyes went 8-for-14 in the three games leading up to the season finale to vault ahead of Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun in the batting race, the Mets revolved their final-game strategy around him, allowing Reyes to bunt for a hit in his first plate appearance of Game No. 162 and then removing him for a pinch-runner.

Asked Tuesday if he might give McNeil a day off in Game 162, Showalter replied that he “would never put him in that position” of having to ask out of the lineup. When the Braves clinched the NL East title midway through Game 2 of the doubleheader and Showalter began subbing regulars out of the game, he left McNeil in to finish.

McNeil said he intends to see where Freeman stands after Tuesday before deciding how much, if at all, he will play on Wednesday. He added that preparing for the playoffs is his top priority.

“Before the Braves series, I knew I was somewhat close but wasn’t really expecting to be where I’m at right now,” McNeil said, referring to his string of eight multihit games in his past 10 tries. “I got hot at the right time, and I’m super happy I’m up there and have a chance to do it.”