Todd Frazier represented the tying run. One swing could eliminate the three-run deficit the Mets were facing in the fourth inning.

Rather than go big, however, Frazier thought small. Instead of swinging for the fences, he took what the defense was giving him.

Frazier drove in the Mets’ first run with a slap bunt to the wide open right side of the infield. Not only did it plate Dominic Smith, but it sent lumbering catcher Wilson Ramos all the way to third.

“That was awesome,” manager Mickey Callaway said.

A batter later, the Mets had the lead, on Adeiny Hechavarria’s opposite-field, three-run homer that would stand up in their 4-3 victory over the Tigers on Sunday.

Frazier had been talking with bench coach Jim Riggleman about such a play, to take advantage of the shift teams use against him.

But he was waiting for the right opportunity. After being worked away in his first at-bat by Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull, he bunted the first pitch he saw in the fourth, a fastball away.

“It’s something you got to work on, really pinpoint the pitch,” Frazier said. “It kick-started us a little bit and away we went. It was perfect. It worked out right.”

Callaway believes the slap bunt can help Frazier down the road, by giving the opponent something extra to think about.

“Now when other teams are doing their advance [scouting] on him, they’re going to have to remember that before they put all their fielders on one side of the bag, and he’s going to have more confidence doing it,” Callaway said. “It opens up the left side for him, and it was huge for our team today.”

It was the lone hit in an otherwise frustrating day at the plate for Frazier in a season full of them. He lined out hard to left field in his first at-bat and popped up in his last two trips. He has a .218/.269/.333 slash line with just two home runs, nine RBIs and a .602 OPS in 27 games. He has swung better of late, hitting safely in eight of his past 10 games.

Sunday, however, he made a difference without hitting a line drive.

“It probably ended up winning us the game,” Callaway said.