WASHINGTON — Carlos Mendoza ran down the day of his starting catcher as if a highlight reel were stitching together in his mind.
“Two homers — going the other way, then dead center,” the Mets manager began. “The throw to second base. Called a really good game.
“So, pretty nice game overall.”
In just his fourth game of the season and 22nd major league game since 2022, Luis Torrens did some of everything and continues to show his new club something.
Torrens, who replaced Omar Narvaez after Friday’s trade with the Yankees, smoked his first two major league home runs since Oct. 5, 2022, during Wednesday’s eventual 9-1 win at Nationals Park.
The now 28-year-old had bounced around last season, when he didn’t hit much with the Mariners or Cubs and eventually signed a minor league pact with the Yankees before this season.
The Mets had a need and made a trade, and Torrens might be running with the opportunity.
He stroked a pair of well-struck home runs, his first a solo shot in the third, the second a missile that began a six-run sixth inning.
It had been a long time since he could jog around big-league bases.
“Super good, super good. I was excited for sure,” said Torrens, who smacked 15 homers with Seattle in 2021. “The most important thing is we got the win.”
He helped in other ways to secure that win.
In the fifth inning, a strike to second caught Jesse Winker attempting to steal for a second straight day — already equaling the number of base runners caught stealing that Narvaez totaled all season.
Torrens also called a good game for Luis Severino, who knew the former Yankees farmhand back in the mid-2010s.
“I used to beat him playing pingpong when I was younger,” Severino said with a laugh. “We followed the plan and we executed.”
When Francisco Alvarez makes his expected return next week, the Mets likely will have to choose between Torrens and Tomas Nido.
Both are hitting, and neither has a minor league option remaining.
Wednesday made that decision a bit more interesting.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Torrens said. “I’m so grateful to be here with the New York Mets and just take advantage of that.”
