WATCH: Jeff McNeil celebrates birthday with game-tying home run, epic bat flip in bottom of the ninth
Jeff McNeil #JeffMcNeil
Have yourself a birthday, Jeff McNeil.
The Mets infielder found a way to celebrate turning 29 years old on Thursday, blasting a no-doubt, game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth of New York’s home opener. McNeil led off the frame and quickly erased a 2-1 deficit with a monstrous home run to right, capped off by an emphatic bat flip while staring into the home dugout.
McNeil’s spot in the batting order was met with contention from many Mets fans, who wanted to see the former All-Star batting earlier than the seventh spot, but manager Luis Rojas said he wanted to split up his lefties, and it paid off in the ninth.
McNeil was benched on Wednesday in favor of Jonathan Villar, even with J.D. Davis nursing a bruised hand. But he made a big impact in his first game back in the lineup – and, apparently, racked up his first-ever bat flip.
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