In his heart, Michael Conforto believed he’d swung the bat well already. This was certainly a matter of personal interpretation. Twice, he’d grounded into inning-ending 4-6-3 double plays, one that merited preservation in the scorecard behind yellow highlight ink. Once he’d struck out, overpowered by a James Paxton fastball.
“He dotted the corner on me all night and made a lot of good pitches,” Conforto would say later. “But that’s why we play nine innings. I knew I’d get another shot at the end.”
This was the chance. This was the bottom of the eighth inning, a full house at Citi Field, maybe one of the last full houses at Citi Field this year, and most of the 42,150 in the park were actually Mets fans, too.