Francisco Alvarez puts homer drought behind him in Mets’ skid-busting win

Francisco Alvarez finally put his troubling home run drought behind him.

Now, he will look to avoid starting a new one.

The rookie catcher crushed a solo home run to right-center field during the Mets’ 4-1 win over the Giants on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.

The blast gave the Mets a 1-0 lead in the third inning, and preceded back-to-back homers by Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor later in the inning that gave the home team a 4-0 lead.

“[The home run drought] wasn’t that frustrating,” Alvarez said through team interpreter Alan Suriel. “I think the most frustrating part was that we haven’t been winning at the clip we want to be winning. Honestly, a game like today I’m much happier because we won. It’s not because I hit the home run, it was because we won.”

The 21-year-old Alvarez, who at one point was the No. 1-ranked prospect in MLB because of his rare power, had gone without a home run since June 10 against the Pirates. Alvarez entered Saturday with a woeful slash line of .111/.184/.133 in 15 games since.

It was a troubling trend for Alvarez after he slugged 12 home runs in the first 43 games he played in this season, with a slash line of .250/.301/.559.

“Catchers’ priority is always catching,” manager Buck Showalter said. “What you get offensively from them is a plus. … We like him. We think he’s gonna be a force.”

Alvarez told The Post last Tuesday that he didn’t think pitchers had started throwing differently to him, but rather that he had gotten sloppy in his own approach at the plate.

Specifically, Alvarez said that the lower-half of his body was moving quicker, and before his upper-body.

He has been focusing on staying planted in the box and trusting his hand speed to allow him to catch up to high-velocity pitches.

Alvarez echoed that sentiment Saturday and said that prior to the game, hitting coach Jeremy Barnes again made his hips a point of emphasis.

Perhaps Alvarez, a critical player if the Mets are to turn their season around, has finally turned the corner.

“I know that at the end of the year, I’m going to hit, I’m going to put in my part,” Alvarez said. “I’m going to work as hard as I possibly can, and my numbers will reflect what I want them to be.”