Mark Vientos continues his ‘crazy’ journey with clutch Mets hit

PHILADELPHIA — After eight days of playing nine total games, the Mets rested before the division series.

Manager Carlos Mendoza called it a “reset” day, when some pitchers played catch, some players received treatment and just about everyone took a breath.

Mark Vientos allowed himself a moment to look back at a season that hit rock bottom before it began and proceeded to ascend to the clouds.

“It’s crazy because I think [Friday] was the first day I kind of like sat back and thought about what I’m doing,” Vientos said before the Mets and Phillies began the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park. “Because when you’re in it, you don’t really look at it. You don’t even sit back and be like, ‘Oh, man.’ It’s like, all right, next, let’s keep winning, next at-bat, next pitch, next play.

“But [Friday]we had the day off, and I kind of just sat back and I was like: ‘Man, this is crazy.’ ”

The craziness only continued Saturday, when Vientos knocked two hits — his second a game-tying single in the eighth inning — in yet another stunning comeback win, this one 6-2 over the Phillies to steal Game 1 of the NLDS.

Vientos seems to be in the middle of every Mets rally, an indispensable piece who continues to hit. His journey to this moment surely makes it all the sweeter.

Back in spring training, the Mets officially signed J.D. Martinez on March 23, which essentially ended Vientos’ bid at a major league job.

Vientos lost the DH competition to a free agent and the third-base job to Brett Baty.

A player bent on proving himself in the majors after 81 MLB games the past two seasons, in which he did not hit much, would begin the year with Triple-A Syracuse.

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He crushed minor league pitching for 23 games before his first 2024 shot, called up at the end of April because Starling Marte was moved to the bereavement list. In his second game, Vientos blasted a walk-off, two-run homer to beat the Cardinals.

Two days later, he was optioned.

Marte had returned.

He played eight more games with Syracuse, suiting up May 12 for what likely was his final Triple-A game. He then finally got the call — for good — and has not looked back (until Friday).

Vientos began getting some time as Baty’s bat was not coming around.

The two unproven prospects shared time at third until May 30, a stretch in which Vientos posted a .882 OPS.

Baty was optioned the next day, and the Mets had uncovered a new third baseman.

Since winning a job he had lost a few months earlier, Vientos has not stopped hitting.

It is not just that he posted a .837 OPS with 27 home runs in 111 games; it is that his OPS in a month never fell below .700, the most consistent member of the Mets lineup since he was called up for good.

“His work is very consistent,” co-hitting coach Eric Chavez said this summer about Vientos. “I think the biggest adjustment he’s made is the offspeed. … This isn’t like Triple-A, where you get 92 [mph] down the middle and hanging sliders.”

In his major league chances last season, Vientos crushed fastballs but little else.

This year, after ramping up the breaking and offspeed pitches he sees during batting practice, he hit .286 with a .531 slugging percentage against offspeed offerings.

A player deemed not good enough for the Opening Day roster was hitting second — the spot reserved for the lineup’s best hitter in the modern game — and came through yet again.

“It’s for sure surreal what’s going on,” Vientos said, “and I’m excited to keep continuing this.”