Marcus Semien putting early season Mets woes behind him in June resurgence

PHILADELPHIA — The version of Marcus Semien the Mets received over the season’s first two months wasn’t very good. An almost automatic out in the lineup deep into May, the veteran second baseman was the embodiment of underperformance for a disappointing team. Lately, there has been a Semien resurgence.Entering Saturday’s game against the Phillies, he owned a .750 OPS for June (which included four homers) and had played a significant role in the Mets winning eight of 14 games.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.

“Every time I show up to the ballpark it’s, ‘How can I grind out my at-bats and help us win?’” Semien said before the game. Semien, who arrived last winter in the trade that sent Brandon Nimmo to Texas, began the day with a .225/.283/.362 slash line — disappointing numbers for the 35-year-old former All-Star.But since late May, his OPS has jumped from .569 to .644 for a team desperately trying to remain relevant. “I have been happy with my routine,” Semien said.

“It’s become consistent as I have worked with [hitting coach] Troy Snitker in the cage.When you are new somewhere, it takes you a little while to kind of nail that stuff down.

I feel for guys who move from organization to organization every year because it’s like you are creatures of habit and sometimes you do too much, too many different things, instead of focusing on something that gets you prepared for the game.” The most problematic of Semien’s underlying metrics might be his bat speed of 68.7 mph that ranks in MLB’s 10th percentile.Even so, most of his troubles have occurred against breaking balls: He had a .150 batting average against that pitch as play began, with 31 strikeouts. “At the end of the day, I think the ability to hit velocity and make contact with velocity … you hit a 98 mph fastball to left field, it should go regardless of the ba...