Baty’s home run represented his fourth home run in four games. During this run, after going 2-for-3 on Tuesday, he’s increased his batting average from .210 to .239 and his OPS from .633 to .791 on the season.

Brett Baty hit the tie-breaking homer in the seventh inning Tuesday night for the host New York Mets, who continued surging with a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Brett Baty didn’t have to be here. Under different circumstances, he certainly would not be. Late last month, the Mets demoted Baty to Triple-A Syracuse, in a move that was largely based on merit. The team had a roster crunch.