Brett Baty returns to Mets wit...

Brett Baty was back in the Mets lineup on Friday at Citi Field against the Seattle Mariners after a nearly three-week stint in Triple-A Syracuse following some struggles he had at the major league-level earlier this year.

While any demotion is disappointing for a player, Baty believes it was beneficial for him.

“I think it was just a good break,” he told reporters before Friday’s game. “Got down there to work on some things and back to being who I am. So I think it was good.”

In 17 games, Baty had a slash line of .246/.329/.492 with five home runs, 16 RBI and a .822 OPS.

While a small sample size, that’s a stark difference from his production with the Mets this season, batting .216/.289/.331 with seven home runs and a .620 OPS.

Baty said the biggest difference was he felt like he got away from trying to hit balls hard up and the middle and felt he was doing too much toward prior to being sent down.

“Just being more relaxed at plate and getting my pitches to hit and not trying to do too much,” Baty said. “I felt like I accomplished that swinging at the right pitches. And, defensively, just shoring up every catch and every throw. I thought it was good.”

Baty added he was not pressing defensively earlier this year, but did feel he was trying to be perfect.

“Just tried to make very single play and try to be perfect but the reality is nobody is perfect in this game,” Baty said. “I’m just gonna go out there and work as hard as I can and be best ballplayer I can be.”

In addition to Baty, the Mets also called up 22-year-old Ronny Mauricio, who has been on a tear at the plate over the last month with a .289/.357/.558 slash line and seven home runs.

When Mets Triple-A manager Dick Scott announced the call ups to the team, he saved Mauricio for last, which got a huge applause from his teammates.

“Everybody got pretty pumped up for him,” Baty said. “He put in all the work. He’s earned it. We’re all super pumped for him.”

Mauricio will bat ninth, behind Baty and fellow rookie Francisco Alvarez.

“We’ve played together four years, we all understand each other’s games and feed off each other too,” Baty said. “We get a lot of confidence from each other. [it’s] pretty cool…excited to play with these guys.”