The Mets gave Ryan Clifford a much-needed reset over the past two weeks.
The slugging prospect had been in the midst of a brutal 0-for-22 stretch at the plate following his IL return, when the club decided to place him on the developmental list.
Back in action on Thursday night, Clifford enjoyed himself a much-needed strong showing.
He played a part in two of Syracuse’s four runs in their shutout victory, driving in one and scoring his own.
The 23-year-old was walked on four pitches his first time up, then scored from second on a D’Andre Smith RBI single.
Clifford drew his second walk of the night two innings later, this time on six pitches.
He was finally able to do some damage with the bat in the bottom of the fifth, lining a second-pitch fastball right back up the middle for an RBI single to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
The slugger chased a fastball out of the zone his next time up, but still finished an encouraging return to the club 1-for-2 with the RBI single, a pair of free passes, and a run scored.
Clifford still has a long ways to go towards rebuilding his prospect pedigree, but a strong finish to the season certainly would rebuild some confidence and go a long way.
He’s hitting .176 on the year with 14 doubles, 16 homers, a .617 OPS, and has struck out 165 times.
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