New York Mets' Ronny Mauricio was ready in first big-league shot of 2026

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Hours later, as a chilly twilight descended upon Queens, it was Mauricio being mobbed by his teammates around first base, Mauricio who had won the Mets’ fourth straight game with a pinch hit 10th-inning single to right. And it was Mendoza chuckling. “Baseball,” he said, shaking his head after the 4-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. “It’s crazy, right?” Mauricio’s winning hit Tuesday sat at the confluence of several small but remarkable early-season developments for New York. At the center of it is Mauricio himself. He was called up Monday to take the place of Juan Soto, essentially to serve as an in-case-of-emergency infielder for a team shuffling a bunch of defensive pieces to mitigate Soto’s absence. That’s why Mendoza made sure to temper expectations early. Still, Mauricio started preparing in the fifth inning for a chance that might not arrive. He stretched, he swung, he studied video of potential sparring partners from the Arizona bullpen. With the score tied 3-3 in the 10th inning, it was his time, pinch hitting for Tyrone Taylor. He was himself at the plate, which is to say he was aggressive. “You could see his confidence in his first swing,” starter Freddy Peralta said. “We had confidence he was going to do something.” Down 0-2, Mauricio stayed ready for a fastball from Arizona closer Paul Sewald. He roped it over Corbin Carroll’s head in right, driving in Francisco Lindor for the first walk-off RBI of his career. “Incredible,” Mauricio said through interpreter Alan Suriel. “In baseball, there’s a lot of highs and lows. The most important thing is continuing to work.” Mauricio knows that as much as anyone. After a promising cameo with the Mets down the stretch of that disappointing 2023 season, he missed all of 2024 and the start of 2025 with a torn ACL suffered playing winter ball. He had brief stretches of success with the big club last season, only to be glued to the bench for the final six weeks of the season, the team teetering on the brink of the playoffs while also trying to preserve his minor-league option for another season. He went more than a month between starts and got all of 16 plate appearances in September. So he made the most of his first of 2026. This was not the first time the bench has come through this season for the Mets. It was not the first time it came through Tuesday. Taylor, whom Mauricio hit for, had entered as a pinch runner for Jorge Polanco, representing the tying run in the eighth after moving aggressively first to third on a one-out single to center. Even with his hottest hitter in Mark Vientos coming to the plate, Mendoza turned again to his bench to deliver that run, opting for lefty Jared Young to hit for Vientos. After the game, Mendoza’s reasoning for the switch was thorough. The Diamondbacks’ bullpen, while filled with eight right-handers, contained a couple who were particularly hard on right-handed hitters. One is Jonathan Loáisiga, whom Mendoza knows well from their shared time with the Yankees. How the eighth transpired only reinforced Mendoza’s feeling: Polanco’s single came from the left side. Loáisiga came from 3-0 down to strike out right-hander Luis Robert Jr. Brett Baty’s single came from the left side. “That for me right there, the game is basically telling you to trust your gut,” Mendoza said about going to another left-handed bat off the bench. “As hard as it is to take the bat away from Mark, it’s first and third, double play in play, Loáisiga is a big groundball pitcher, and you’ve got a pretty good left-handed batter on the bench. I felt like I needed to do it.” Young ripped a pitch from Loáisiga to right for a tying sacrifice fly. Mendoza’s only lament afterward was that the ball would have left the yard on a summer day. Early this season, the Mets are 4-for-9 when pinch hitting. The rest of the league entered Tuesday hitting .141 in pinch hitting spots. “Credit to players and coaches,” Mendoza said. “The preparation level, just understanding potential matchups and potential situations and then executing the plan and trusting it.” And Tuesday highlighted one more thing: Mendoza came into this year aiming to be a better communicator. So much of success off the bench starts with an understanding of one’s role — the kind Mauricio gained Tuesday morning. “I was really appreciative of the conversation we had,” Mauricio said of his morning meeting with Mendoza. “He was clear and transparent. I’ll be ready once my name is called.” “It shows you we’re going to need everyone here,” Mendoza said. “Everyone who walks through those doors is important.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Tim Britton is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the New York Mets. He has covered Major League Baseball since 2009 and the Mets since 2018. Prior to joining The Athletic, he spent seven seasons on the Red Sox beat for the Providence Journal. He has also contributed to Baseball Prospectus, NBC Sports Boston, MLB.com and Yahoo Sports. Follow Tim on Twitter @TimBritton