DENVER — Juan Soto might have summed up the situation best Friday when he was asked about the Mets’ underwhelming production with runners in scoring position this season.
“S–t happens,” Soto told The Post.
On Thursday, the Mets went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position — and left 13 runners on base — in a 6-5 loss to the Dodgers.
Despite even worse numbers Friday, the result was at least better as the Mets came away with a 4-2 win over the Rockies at Coors Field.
The Mets entered play Friday ranked 27th in MLB, owning a .218 batting average with runners in scoring position.
They then proceeded to go 2-for-15 against the MLB-worst Rockies while stranding 12 runners on base.
Luckily for the Mets, one of those two hits came from the bat of pinch hitter Francisco Lindor, who did not start due to a broken pinkie toe on his right foot. Lindor smacked the game-winning go-ahead double with two outs in the top of the ninth to improve his own average with runners in scoring position to .185.
The team’s anemic production with runners in scoring position has been an ongoing theme throughout the season.
“It’s frustrating,” hitting coach Jeremy Barnes said before the victory. “When you look at it, the approach doesn’t change. A lot of the underlying things don’t change. On one hand, I know it’s a very volatile stat and you can have massive swings from one year to the next, but it’s something we would like to get better at.
“We’re definitely talking about it. I don’t think there is a black and white, ‘If we do this, it’s going to work.’ We understand how we’re getting pitched. We understand the situation. We have just got to come through. It’s something we are going to continue to monitor and work on and try to drive through.”
Not every member of the lineup has struggled in such situations. Pete Alonso has carried the offensive load over the first two-plus months of the season, and his production with runners in scoring position reflects that fact.
Alonso entered play 23-for-65 (.354) with runners in scoring position. He also had seven of the team’s 16 homers in such situations. Fittingly, Alonso also delivered one of the only two hits with runners in scoring position Friday night, a seventh-inning double that brought in two runs.
“Pete’s great at it,” Barnes said. “In a way, there’s an art form to it. There’s a little more pressure, and they may pitch you a little differently. And Pete has shown in his career that he is very good at it.”
Luis Torrens is another player who has emerged with runners in scoring position. The catcher entered play 11-for-39 (.296) in that scenario.
At the other end of the spectrum is Soto, who is 7-for-51 (.137) this season with runners in scoring position. Soto said his approach doesn’t change, regardless of the number of runners on base.
“I try to do the same thing,” he said.
Jeff McNeil also is among those struggling and now sits at 4-for-27 (.148) this season after going 0-for-3 on Friday.
“We have guys in this room who have been very good at it their entire year or their career,” Barnes said. “And for whatever reason — you could probably point to a million different things on an individual basis — it hasn’t happened.”
Barnes remains optimistic the script will soon flip.
“We are aware of this, but this isn’t Code Red yet,” Barnes said. “It is so volatile. It is starting to warm up, and some of these balls that we are hitting hard, if they start to land, the narrative completely shifts.
“Right now, my answer is to cross our fingers a little bit harder.”