New York Mets first baseman Lucas Duda tied a franchise record during Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, joining Dave Kingman (1976) and Carlos Delgado (2008) as the only three players in franchise history to record seven multi-home run games in the same season, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Duda first went deep against Phillies starter David Buchanan in the fourth inning, cutting the Mets deficit to 3-1 with a blast to deep center field.
Then, with his team trailing 4-1 in the ninth inning, Duda hit a two-run home run to left field off Phillies closer Ken Giles, cutting the lead to 4-3 with just one out left in the game.
Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud struck out to end the contest, but Duda still came away with a piece of team history in the losing effort.
Despite struggling through a midseason slump in June and July, the 29-year-old Duda owns a strong .249/.356/.497 batting line for the year with 27 home runs, 73 RBI and 66 runs in 461 at-bats (131 games).
Although the total production is pretty close to what was expected, Duda‘s path to success has been somewhat surprising, as his batting average and slugging percentage are better against left-handed pitchers than right-handed pitchers.
Prior to this season, Duda struggled badly against lefties, which often left him as part of a platoon.
If he stays healthy and continues to handle southpaws, Duda could be in for a huge 2016.
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