Ronny Mauricio returns to the majors with a flourish for the New York Mets

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NEW YORK (AP) — In his first big league at-bat this season, Ronny Mauricio made an immediate impact for the New York Mets.

Mauricio returned to the majors Tuesday and lined a pinch-hit single in the 10th inning that gave the Mets a 4-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Once a highly rated prospect, the switch-hitting infielder was recalled Monday from Triple-A Syracuse when slugger Juan Soto was placed on the injured list. Mauricio came off the bench in the 10th to bat for Tyrone Taylor and laced an 0-2 pitch from Paul Sewald over the head of right fielder Corbin Carroll to drive in automatic runner Francisco Lindor from third base with one out.

“I’m proud of him,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I’m glad that he was able to get the job done. Big moment for him, for the team. Obviously, they know how hard it’s been for him, not only going through injuries but the whole year itself last year when he didn’t play much. He goes down to Triple-A, he comes back up today and gets a huge hit for us.”

Mauricio threw off his helmet and ran into center field before being caught by teammates, who swarmed him and doused him with water on a windy day at Citi Field.

“My focus was already to put the ball in play — way before I got to the plate,” he said through a translator. “Just put the ball in play and hopefully it drops in somewhere.”

The walk-off hit was the first for Mauricio in the majors. The previous Mets player with a game-ending RBI in his first plate appearance of the season was Alberto Castillo against Philadelphia on March 31, 1998.

Mauricio, who turned 25 last week, was sent to the minors late in spring training and batted .273 with one homer, three RBIs and three stolen bases in eight games at Syracuse.

He made his major league debut in September 2023 but missed the following season because of a knee injury and spent significant chunks of last year stuck on New York’s bench, making only nine starts after Aug. 1.

Mendoza acknowledged Mauricio’s return to the big leagues could be challenging for someone accustomed to playing regularly at Triple-A.

“It’s not an easy conversation,” Mendoza said. “Telling a guy that is an everyday player that he could be an everyday (big league) player that, hey man, opportunity is not here yet. But you have to stay ready, because it could happen fast.”

Mauricio did just that, and his first opportunity arrived in a hurry Tuesday.

“Sure enough, today, biggest at-bat,” Mendoza said.

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