Just Mets

It took a while, but Lucas Duda has located his power stroke.

And, he has found it with a barrage of home runs as of late.

On Tuesday, Duda crushed two home runs to center field – both solo shots – as part of a seven run attack against the Phillies to pace the Mets to a three-game sweep of their division rival.

It was Duda’s fourth and fifth home runs in six games, all of which have come at Citi Field. He has a 1.623 OPS during that stretch.

“I’m getting a little more comfortable. Just trying to elevate a pitch and put a good swing on it,” Duda explained of his two home runs. “I was looking for a fastball up and I was able to get it and put a pretty good swing on it.”

Duda had hit just three home runs through the team’s first 41 games, but Duda claims he has changed nothing over the last week.

He doesn’t usually say much, but that’s but of Duda’s charm. He’s probably the quietest of the premier power hitters in the league right now. He doesn’t like to take credit for anything, he doesn’t do anything with flare or glitz like a lot of power hitters – he goes up to the plate, hits a ton, and goes home.

In a way, he’s a lot like the way Edgardo Alfonzo went about his work in his prime. He’d walk up to the plate, hit .300, talk about his approach and go home.

In Duda’s case, the discussion is about his power which quietly stands out among the elite in the game today.

Over the last week in particular, Duda’s stroke appears a lot shorter, particularly against right-handed pitchers against which he was marginally struggling through the season’s first quarter. It’s like he’s taking a two-strike approach in every count, but he is so strong and has so much power that it’s translating into consistent extra-base power lately. 

The power surge has helped raise his average to .275 with an .839 OPS against right-handers and has quickly emerged as one of the most feared power hitters in the sport.

Why? Because he’s left-handed pitching this season to the tune of a 1.144 OPS with four home runs, two more than he hit against southpaws all year in 2014. Duda is now on pace for 27 home runs over a 162 game stretch. And, he seems to still be trending upwards.

It’s not uncommon to see power hitters struggle with the Mets in the early part of the season. It’s typically cold and damp at game time over the first four to six weeks of the year, and the ball just tends dies in the outfield. That was the case at Shea Stadium, it’s the case at Citi Field. Hell, it was the case at Wrigley Field earlier in May when they were playing in 50 degree weather.

But now that it’s warmed up, so has Duda and potentially other Mets in the power department. It’s a welcomed and much needed sight for this team which had struggled so much offensively with the absence of David Wright and Travis d’Arnaud.

“Just trying to keep it simple,” Duda explained.

Simply splendid.