NEW YORK (AP) — Jesse Winker was holding his daughter during a postgame interview after helping lift the New York Mets to a comeback win Saturday night when he asked her if he was fast.
Without hesitation, 4-year-old Wren nodded. She quickly nodded again when Winker asked if she’s faster than him.
“Wren’s Dad didn’t know he was fast,” Winker said with a big smile. “And I don’t think he is fast.”
But Winker hit two triples, including the tying two-run hit in the eighth inning, and also had a double in over the Toronto Blue Jays.
So, is Winker the new basepaths-blazing version of Lance Johnson or Jose Reyes for the Mets?
“No,” Winker said flatly.
The 31-year-old Winker entered Saturday with just three regular-season triples in 760 career games, and he hadn’t had one in a regular-season game since 2021 while with Cincinnati.
But the triples against the Blue Jays were his third and fourth in his last 16 games dating to the start of the playoffs last October. The long-haired outfielder had RBI triples against Milwaukee in a wild-card series and Los Angeles in the NL Championship Series.
“Just put your head down and run as fast as you can,” Winker said.
Winker’s second triple could have been an inside-the-park home run. Blue Jays right fielder George Springer suffered lower back spasms after crashing into the wall in pursuit of the ball, but he got back to his feet, chased down the ball and threw it towards the infield to limit Winker to three bases.
“Initially, I thought it had a chance to get out — I probably should have been running harder out of the box,” Winker said. “But once it ricocheted, I just wanted to run as fast as I could.”
Winker also tripled with two outs in the fourth off Chris Bassitt, but was stranded when Mark Vientos struck out. The two-triple game was the first by a Mets player since Francisco Lindor did so on July 26, 2023.
Still, Winker joined a select club by becoming the 17th player in team history with two triples in a game. Reyes holds the team record with 113 triples and eight two-triple games. Johnson, whose 21 triples in 1996 are the single-season team record, and Doug Flynn are the only other Mets players with a pair of two-triple games.
“It’s crazy — crazy, no comment,” Winker said with a grin. “Tired.”
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