With ‘sense of urgency,’ Mets break out behind Lindor & Alonso
NEW YORK — Led by shortstop Francisco Lindor and first baseman Pete Alonso, the Mets put the brakes on their four-game skid with a 9-1 victory over the Athletics on Wednesday night at Citi Field.
Lindor said the Mets had a sense of urgency to get a victory, because they don’t want to fall any further in the National League Wild Card standings (they’re two games out of the third NL WC spot). By the time the game started, there was a notable change in energy in the dugout.
“We had to — losing four in a row, feeling like [our backs] were against the wall; everybody had a sense of urgency today,” Lindor said. “I don’t want to say that is the main reason we won today, but it was something that we felt. We needed to create better vibes. We needed to push each other. Today was definitely better.”
Those positive vibes started early. New York already had a 1-0 lead when Lindor came to the plate against right-hander Joey Estes in the third inning. Lindor bolstered that lead, though, crushing the ball over the right-field wall for his 23rd home run of the season. It was his first long ball since July 25 against the Braves.
Lindor also became the 17th member of the Mets to hit 100 home runs with the organization. Brandon Nimmo reached the plateau on June 30 against the Astros.
“It’s cool for sure — it’s better because we won today,” Lindor said. “I was glad to add to the lead early on. Just keep on climbing.”
Alonso, meanwhile, went 4-for-4 for his first four-hit game of the season. He already had a single in the second inning, but it was his solo homer two innings later that gave New York a three-run lead.
All told, Alonso is having an OK season, hitting .246 with 26 home runs and 68 RBIs. But the team needs Alonso to go into a long stretch where he can carry the team. Hopefully, Wednesday was the start of a power surge.
“He saw a homer on a breaking ball today. He was ready for the fastball. He took some pretty good pitches for balls,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said about Alonso. “It comes down to timing. We’ve seen it – on and off. When he is right, he could be pretty dangerous, and we saw some signs today.
“The past couple of games, you saw some signs [of Alonso breaking out of his slump]. Even today, obviously, with the big game. It’s good to see.”
Taking early batting practice shows how much Alonso wants to go to the postseason for the second time in his career. He definitely wasn’t chasing pitches and hitting early in the count on Wednesday.
“If I’m given a pitch in the middle of the zone, just hit the ball hard,” Alonso said.
By the time the Mets reached the seventh inning, they had a 3-1 lead. Then they rallied to score six additional runs off Oakland’s bullpen. It was Lindor and Alonso who did most of the damage. With the bases loaded, Lindor punched an RBI single to center field off Will Klein, scoring Mark Vientos. Alonso arguably had the biggest hit shortly thereafter, when he swung at a pitch from Ross Stripling and doubled to left field, plating J.D. Martinez and Harrison Bader.
The victory helped Mets left-hander David Peterson pick up his seventh win of the season. He allowed just one run on three hits and four walks over 6 1/3 innings.
“I feel like tonight, everybody did a phenomenal job,” Alonso said. “I’m really happy tonight for everybody. It was an unbelievable game. Hopefully, we can take the series tomorrow. We are playing good baseball. We need to keep at it.”