#Amed Rosario finally giving Mets what he did last year

A missile of a home run to create needed breathing room. A clutch, well-struck single to the opposite field.

This was the Amed Rosario the Mets saw so much of in the second half of last season. For one night, he was back.

Rosario keyed the Mets’ second straight win over the Marlins, an 8-3 rout in Miami, with two hits and three RBIs Tuesday night.

“It’s good for him to build back-to-back games with a couple of hits,” manager Luis Rojas said. “His approach has gotten better. He still chased a few pitches tonight, but better — a lot better.”

He would’ve had even more production had the rocket in his second at-bat with two runners in scoring position not been hit directly at third baseman Brian Anderson. As it was, it was a strong start in the right direction for the 24-year-old Rosario, who also had two hits and an RBI in Monday’s lopsided victory.

In the seventh inning, he turned on a Nick Vincent fastball and blasted his second home run of the year, a 434-foot shot that provided the Mets with an insurance run. And in the eighth with the bases loaded, he lined a Brad Boxberger fastball to right-center field to plate two runs.

“Those are really good signs that’s he’s seeing the ball better, and he’s trusting [himself] more,” Rojas said. “We got to build off of this, stay consistent.”

It has been a rough open to this shortened season for Rosario, who missed two games with a left quad injury then three more last week with an illness. Despite the impressive play in his place by Andres Gimenez, Rojas has said Rosario is his shortstop despite carrying an anemic .211/.211/.310 slash line and .521 OPS into play Tuesday night.

“I feel like this season’s been tough. But I’ve continued to work,” Rosario said through a translator. “I’ve been keeping a positive attitude and I know eventually with the work I’ve been putting in the results would eventually come like today.”

Rosario had entered the game with concerning numbers. His chase percentage of 44.6 was way up and his exit velocity of 84.9 mph was down from a year ago, according to Statcast. He still has yet to draw a walk this season. He’s been trying to improve in those areas, and lately he’s noticed some improvements.

“What I’ve been trying to do the last couple of days was shrink my strike zone so I can focus in on the pitches that I can do damage with,” Rosario said. “I’m just really trying to avoid chasing as many pitches as I have.”