Amed Rosario can refer to his usual spot in the lineup as “Cloud Nine.”
The Mets shortstop continues to produce from the No. 9 hole in the batting order, with less production from his bat when he hits elsewhere.
“I am not putting a lot of pressure on myself,” said Rosario, who is 23-for-78 (.295) when batting ninth this season.
He is 4-for-31 (.129) when batting sixth or seventh.
Manager Mickey Callaway cited the fact Rosario, batting behind the pitcher and ahead of the leadoff hitter, sees better pitches when hitting ninth.
“He has done a great job, and the numbers are really showing that he isn’t chasing as much as he did last year,” Callaway said. “All those things that he has been working on have definitely improved. He still has some growing to do, but I think that nine-hole is giving him a chance to do those things and still develop at the big-league level.”
In his past eight games, Rosario is 8-for-25 (.325) with two doubles, two RBIs and one stolen base.
“This year I feel more confident,” said Rosario, who played the final two months of last season with the Mets. “I know where I stay right now. I think this year I know what I’ve got so I am trying to make my strike zone smaller and am working hard every day and have got a plan.”
Callaway says he is content to keep Rosario in the ninth hole for the foreseeable future.
“We are seeing teams do it more and more to help their young players,” Callaway said. “This is just a stepping stone toward that.”
AJ Ramos, who surrendered a walk-off homer to Adam Duvall in the 10th inning Wednesday, continues to search for consistency. Earlier this season his biggest issue was walks, but he has surrendered six hits in his past 2 ²/₃ innings, spanning five appearances.
“No one likes to do bad, but it’s also something that is challenging me,” Ramos said.
“Challenging me in a different role and coming in at different times of the game is challenging me to be better and I have got to be better.”
The right-hander, who has been used largely in various matchup situations, said his goal is to revert to pitching a full inning. Ramos’ 20 appearances entering Thursday were tied for the NL lead.
Adrian Gonzalez’s five homers this season have come on the road, continuing a career trend. Overall, he’s hit 59.18 percent of his homers on the road, the second highest figure among the 146 players with at least 300 career homers, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Joe Adcock, who played from 1950-66, hit 59.23 percent of his career homers on the road.


