QUEENS — DJ Stewart is on some kind of heater.
Over his first 23 games as a member of the New York Mets, the right fielder that had just 195 MLB games to his ledger from 2018-2022 with the Baltimore Orioles hit just a single home run in 41 at-bats.
He now has three in his last two games, including a pair of round-trippers with three RBI in Wednesday’s 8-3 Mets victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field.
The victory, which also featured Pete Alonso’s 36th home run of the season and his 469th career RBI to move him into 10th place on the all-time franchise list, gave the Mets (55-66) a series victory in the rubber game against Pittsburgh for a second series triumph in their last three.
“Baseball is a crazy game, a tough game,” Stewart said. “Sometimes a swing where you get ta hit off the end of the bat, and it could be a bad swing, gives you confidence going into your next at-bat. Coming of the bench last night, obviously the home run, I have confidence.”
Stewart put the Mets ahead with one out in the third inning when he lifted his third home run of the season off the face of the second deck in right field to put the hosts up 1-0.
Omar Narvaez followed Stewart with a double and Rafael Ortega walked to mount another Mets threat that gained further malice after Pirates starter Johan Oviedo balked to move each runner up 90 feet and then walked Brandon Nimmo to load the bases.
With two outs, Lindor lined a single the other way to right field to score two more.
Tylor Megill — who allowed two runs in five innings of work despite walking four and allowing five hits — conceded a pair to the Pirates immediately after being given the lead. After Ke’Bryan Hayes led off with a double, Bryan Reynolds poked his 18th home run of the season just over the left-center-field wall.
“There’s still another level that we’ve seen that he can get to,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said of Megill. “Just the command. Throwing 90-plus pitches and he’s fortunate to get through five with all the traffic and the walks. He’s better than that.”
Brandon Nimmo replied with an RBI single in the fourth, re-extending the Mets’ lead to two. Pittsburgh nearly cut it back to within one in the fifth when Jack Suwinski’s single down the line provided Andrew McCutchen with an opportunity to score from first. But the relay from Stewart to Jeff McNeil, to Narvaez at home was just in time to keep the run off the board.
“Everyone will talk about the relay throw and the tag, but the key of the whole play is the right fielder,” Showalter said. “Get it out and get an accurate throw. Give you something to redirect.”
Stewart kept the big plays going when he struck again in the bottom of the fifth with his second round-tripper of the afternoon into the bullpens out in left-center — a two-run shot off reliever Ryan Borucki to break it open.
“The world’s full of players who really care, figuring things out a little bit,” Showalter said of the 29-year-old Stewart — the two working together previously in Baltimore. “Hopefully we’re seeing some of that with him.”
Alonso added to the party in the seventh inning when he lined his 36th home run of the season over the left-field fence. The solo shot to make it 7-3 gave Alonso the 469th RBI of his career, moving him past franchise legend Keith Hernandez for 10th place in team history.
Rafael Ortega made it 8-3 with a two-out RBI single to score McNeil from third after the Mets’ turn at-bat was kept alive thanks to an error by Pirates first baseman Liover Peguero on a grounder by Narvaez.
