It’s been a pretty brutal stretch for the Mets since the trade deadline. They lost all six games on the road trip to fall a season-high 11 games under the .500 mark and were outscored 39-14.
They’ve been looking for someone to step up and help bring the skid to an end, and on Monday night, Pete Alonso was the man for the job. The slugger cracked a pair of homers en route to a three hit and six RBI night, tying his career-high, in the 11-2 rout of the red hot Cubs.
Alonso’s first homer, a three-run shot in the bottom of the first, left the bat at an incredible 42 degrees launch angle. It looked like it may be a fly out at first, but kept carrying its way over the left field fence.
“I though I hit it really well, I got it up in the air and was just hoping it had enough,” Alonso told reporters postgame. “Thankfully, it ended up going over and gave us an early lead.”
Alonso added another just two innings later, also off the left-hander Drew Smyly, this one a no-doubt two-run shot to deep left-center. Then in the eighth, he picked up an RBI single to cap off his big night.
He made sure to give credit to his teammates, particularly Francisco Lindor and Francisco Alvarez, for setting the table and putting together good at-bats ahead of him.
“People in front of me just had excellent quality at-bats and gave me a chance to drive them in,” he said. “Francisco and Francisco did a great job of getting me in a great RBI position in the first inning. I just wanted to keep the momentum going, and I was fortunate to be able to capitalize on pitches in my zone.”
This continues a stretch of good play from Alonso. Over his last 17 games, he’s hitting .333 with four doubles, a triple, seven homers, 21 RBI, and a 1.126 OPS. Even after the rough stretch, he still sits third in all of baseball with 33 home runs and 83 RBI on the year.
Alonso credits his turnaround to the hard work he’s been putting in off the field.
“I’m feeling super confident. It’s just hard work, determination, and unrelenting self belief even when things aren’t going well,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of talks with teammates and coaches, and they’ve been super supportive and helpful.
“I just want to keep putting the best version of myself out there every single day. Really happy but success isn’t guaranteed in the big leagues. Every single day just have to go out there and compete the best you can and that’s what I do.”