In only his second game with the New York Mets since being called up for their weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Prince George native Jared Young came close to clubbing his first major league home run in two seasons.
In his first at-bat in Sunday’s game in New York, in the bottom of the second inning, Young got all of a pitch thrown by righthander Landon Knack and the ball headed for the deepest part of the ballpark.
His well-hit ball left his bat at 107 miles per hour brought a roar out of the Citi Field crowd of 41,917 but it wasn’t quite deep enough to clear the wall at 408 feet. Dodgers centre fielder Andy Pages took off running and spun twice before he caught the ball on the warning track, denying Young his first hit as Met.
The Mets went on to win the game 3-1, coming on the heels of a 5-2 win on Saturday that gave them the edge in the three-game series against the defending World Series champions.
The 29-year-old Young was activated for Saturday’s game when he got the call from triple-A Syracuse. As the designated hitter Young scored the go-ahead run for the Mets in the second inning Saturday, reaching base after he was hit by pitch. He took off from second base on Brett Baty’s ground ball that bounced into the right outfield and scored easily for a 2-1 lead.
That game marked Young’s return to the majors, after he played 22 games over two seasons (2022 and 2023) for the Chicago Cubs, the team that drafted him from Old Dominion University in the 15th round in 2017.
Young has proven his power as a long-ball hitter throughout his pro career and produced 10 home runs in 38 games last year playing in Korea for the Doosan Bears. In 65 major league at-bats he’s collected 13 hits, two home runs and eight RBI and has three stolen bases.
In 22 games in the International League with Syracuse, Young hit five home runs and doubled five times for 21 runs batted in. He was hitting .259 with an OPS of .877 when he packed his bags for New York.
He played primarily at left field during his time with the triple-A Mets but was also used at first, second and third base, in addition to DH duties.
“Getting the call and making the drive in is always a special feeling,’’ Young told the New York Post. “It’s a good thing. It shows that they believe in the player I am and you feel like everything you’ve been doing has been for a reason.”
The Mets (33-21, second in NL East) have won three straight games with Young in the lineup as they continue their homestand this week against the Chicago White Sox. Young batted fifth in the order at DH on Monday and was held without a hit in two at-bats against former Mets pitcher Adrian Hauser, who gave up just three hits in six innings.
Francisco Lindor’s bases-loaded walk-off sacrifice fly in the ninth inning gave the Mets a 2-1 victory.
New York will also host Colorado in a three-game set this weekend.
