The Cuban outfielder Luis Robert Jr. starred in one of his best performances of the season this Sunday by hitting his fifth home run of the year and driving in four runs in the decisive victory of the New York Mets over the Pittsburgh Pirates with a score of 11-1 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
The decisive moment came in the third inning when Robert Jr. hammered a 96.2 mph fastball from pitcher Jared Jones, sending the ball 408 feet to center field with an exit velocity of 108.3 mph.
The two-run hit made the score 4-0 in favor of New York and sparked an offense that did not stop all afternoon.
At the end of the game, the Cuban player recorded four runs batted in—including a home run, a sacrifice fly, and an RBI single—as part of a collective display by the Mets, who amassed 15 hits.
He was not the only Cuban to stand out: Francisco Álvarez also hit a home run during the game, while Bo Bichette had a perfect afternoon with five at-bats, including a bases-clearing double in the fourth inning that extended the lead to 8-1.
The opener Sean Manaea dominated from the mound with seven innings of just one run and 11 strikeouts, leaving Pittsburgh with almost no options from the early innings.
The only score for the Pirates came from a solo home run by Jake Mangum in the third inning.
Robert Jr.'s figures in August show a clear upward trend: he has a batting average of .304 for the month, with five home runs and 16 RBIs so far in the 2026 season.
This performance contrasts with the challenges he faced in 2025 with the Chicago White Sox, when a grade two hamstring injury sidelined him in August of that year and ended his season early.
After that complicated chapter, the White Sox traded him to the Mets in January 2026 in exchange for Luisángel Acuña and Truman Pauley, with New York assuming his salary of 20 million dollars for this season.
The baseball player born in Ciego de Ávila had already shown signs of recovery in July, when he hit a 451-foot home run against Milwaukee with an exit velocity of 112.2 mph.
What happened this Sunday against Pittsburgh confirms that the Cuban outfielder is back, and that the Mets have a key player for the final stretch of the season.
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