Brett Baty has struggled to stick around at the MLB level because of his inconsistency at the plate. Given how he's fared as a hitter in the big leagues, it's hard to blame former Atlanta Braves catcher and current FOX broadcaster A.J. Pierzynski for basically assuming Baty would be an easy out for Chicago Cubs rookie Cade Horton to pick up.
After a first-pitch ball, Horton got even with Baty by getting him to chase a slider out of the strike zone. After that pitch, Pierzynski made the claim that by throwing two more breaking pitches, he'd strike Baty out. Instead, Baty launched a breaking ball over the wall in right-center field to cut what was a 4-0 New York Mets deficit to 4-3.
"If he can throw two more breaking balls to Baty…there’s a good chance he’s gonna punch him out," Pierzynski said.
It's safe to say he is going to want this one back.
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Brett Baty's huge home run made A.J. Pierzynski look foolish
Again, it isn't hard to see why Pierzynski had this opinion. Baty hasn't done much in his MLB career, Horton's slider is his best pitch, and Baty had just one hit in 18 at-bats against breaking pitches this season, with four strikeouts according to Baseball Savant. On paper, this matchup wasn't a great one for Baty. Still, he got a pitch to hit and made no mistake.
Baty has had his struggles, but most hitters can capitalize on pitches to hit, much like Baty just did. With this home run, Baty has now gone deep in back-to-back games, giving Mets fans reason to hope that maybe he has finally found something that works.
Regardless of whether Baty's newfound power stroke is consistent enough for him to stick around at the MLB level remains to be seen, but for Saturday's purposes, that one big swing brought the team back into the game. If they win, Mets fans can thank a player they rooted profusely against for evidently jinxing one of the game's heroes.