Pete Alonso deserves all the credit after yet more heroics
The Mets win in Sacramento despite another ninth-inning adventure by Edwin Díaz. Plus, giving Alonso his flowers after a red-hot start to 2025...
What’s up with the Mets? ⚾
The Mets held on to beat the A’s 7-6 and take the first game of the series at Sutter Health Park on Friday night (box | highlights)
RHP Griffin Canning allowed four earned runs on seven hits - including a two-run home run - with three walks and three strikeouts in 5.1 innings
RHP Reed Garrett, RHP Ryne Stanek and LHP A.J. Minter combined for 2.2 innings of scoreless relief with one hit and three strikeouts
RHP Edwin Díaz entered the game in the ninth and gave up two walks and two earned runs on one hit, but eked out of the jam for the victory
1B Pete Alonso was the star of the game once again, finishing 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs, 1 run scored, a double, a home run and a crucial sac fly
LF Brandon Nimmo got the scoring started with a home run in the top of the second. He would finish 1-for-4 with a run scored and a walk
C Luis Torrens - back in the lineup - and DH Starling Marte both hit RBI doubles as the Mets got contributions from up and down the lineup
Luisangel Acuña - getting the start at second base - had a good game offensively, going 2-for-4 with a run scored, a walk and a stolen base
The Mets - who are now 9-4 on the year - went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position, leaving 10 runners stranded on base
RHP Luis Severino revealed that he asked for less money to stay with the Mets, before ultimately signing with the A’s in the offseason (SNY)
RF Juan Soto’s two different batting stances are legendary, and he provided some insight behind that art form (MLB.com)
Injury Updates 🏥
Jeff McNeil (oblique strain) went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run for Port St. Lucie on Friday night. He also logged five innings at second base. He will play another game for St. Lucie on Sunday, before heading to Triple-A Syracuse to get more at-bats
Francisco Álvarez (fractured left hand) caught seven innings behind the plate for Port St. Lucie on Friday, while going 0-for-3 at the plate with a walk and a run scored. He will also play for St. Lucie on Sunday, before heading back to Citi Field on Monday to check in with the doctors. He will then play for Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday
Paul Blackburn (knee soreness) threw a live BP in Brooklyn on Friday, and depending on how he recovers, will throw another BP on Tuesday
Who’s Hot? 🔥
Pete Alonso now leads the National League in a number of categories thanks to his hot start. He’s hitting .378/.482/.778/.1.260 with four homers, six doubles, eight walks and 18 RBIs through the first 13 games - he is the National League’s leading hitter
The Mets bullpen remains stellar, owning a 1.93 ERA through the first 13 games of the year - third base in baseball
Who’s Cold? 🥶
The Mets have a .161 average with runners in scoring position so far this year (18-for-112)
Mark Vientos went 0-for-4 with a strikeout on Friday, continuing his early-season slump. He’s now hitting .109/.241/.152/.393 and is yet to have hit a home run
Play of the Game ⭐️
We could have gone with any number of contenders for today’s ‘Play of the Game.’ Heck, Pete Alonso had three or four moments worthy of this section alone.
However, it feels right to go with José Siri, given that his need for speed set the table for a critical rally.
In the sixth, with the Mets leading 3-1, and having already wasted a slew of opportunities to blow the game wide open, Alonso came to the plate with the bases loaded. He hit a cutter to shallow right field to Lawrence Butler for the second out of the game.
However, Siri showed tremendous insight to see that Butler wasn’t in a position to throw a runner out, and decided to go for home. He flashed his blazing speed on the way to scoring a run and adding to the Mets’ lead.
Furthermore, Siri’s decision also paved the way for Starling Marte to later come to the plate and score two on an RBI double, runs that would prove crucial later on.
If it weren’t for Siri’s slick base running, that rally may never have taken place and, given what happened later in the game, the Mets could well have ended up losing the series opener.
Down on the Farm 🌾
RHP Jack Wenninger (No. 29 prospect, Double-A): 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 1 HR
DH Jett Williams (No. 2 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR
DH Drew Gilbert (No. 11 prospect, Single-A): 2-for-4, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK (PPD) | Double-A BNG GM 1 | GM 2 | Triple-A SYR (PPD)
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (9-4) vs. Athletics (5-9)
Where: Sutter Health Park - Sacramento, CA
Starters: LHP David Peterson (1-0, 2.53 ERA) vs. TBD
When: 4:05 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Why Pete Alonso deserves all the flowers after red-hot start… ✍️
Pete Alonso was the hero once again for the Mets on Friday night.
In their first trip to Sacramento - and on the first West Coast road trip of the year - the Mets threatened to give the game away at various points.
But, ultimately, they held on to get the road trip off to a winning start.
And it was all thanks to Alonso.
The red-hot slugger went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored on the night. And all of his hits acted as defining points in the game.
He added to a slim lead in the top of the fifth with an RBI double that scored Juan Soto. A sac fly in the sixth scored Jose Siri and also led to a rally that proved to be critical in the overall tenor of the game.
Then, with the A’s fighting back and having seized all of the momentum, Alonso blasted a solo home run in the eighth inning, a shot that added an insurance run and effectively iced the game.
In other words, Alonso’s fingerprints could be found all over this latest win.
Alonso also had a huge impact on the game in the way he contributed to adding to the workload of the A’s pitching staff. Displaying an ultra-patient approach this year, Alonso worked deep, gritty at-bats every time he stepped up to the plate. He saw a total of 25 pitches in his at-bats, including working an eight-pitch count when he hit the double, before homering on the seventh pitch of his duel with Josh Leclerc.
A’s pitchers combined to throw 210 pitches on Friday, and Alonso’s determination to force tough and long at-bats was a driving force behind that.
As a result of his heroics in Sacramento, Alonso now leads the National League with 18 RBIs and a .378 batting average. Furthermore, his .778 slugging percentage and whopping 1.260 OPS are both tops in Major League Baseball.
And you have to give Alonso gargantuan credit for how he’s approached this season, and for the blazing hot start he’s orchestrated 13 games into the 2025 season.
After all, few would have blamed the first baseman for holding a grudge following a difficult offseason. It appeared on a slew of occasions that the Mets were ready to move on from Alonso, and that couldn’t have been easy to swallow.
Negotiations were long and drawn-out, and Alonso also got a fair amount of negative attention online for having walked away from a far bigger offer a year or so before the one he eventually signed this past winter.
All in all, it was hardly an ideal offseason for the four-time All-Star, and hardly one conducive to getting physically and mentally prepared for a grueling 162-game marathon.
There was also the danger that history could repeat itself. Alonso struggled greatly in what was a contract year in 2024, with the backdrop of hitting free agency clearly having a negative impact on his game.
Given the opt-outs included in the new contract, Alonso will become a free agent again next offseason, meaning that 2025 is another walk year.
However, through the first 13 games, Alonso is showing no signs of wilting under the pressure this time around. He has looked more like the power-hitting rookie who took New York by storm in 2019. He’s been the spark for an offense that has yet to really get going, and he has been the driving force behind the Mets getting off to a 9-4 start.
After a tough year, and an even tougher offseason, Alonso hasn’t allowed any of that to linger. Instead, he’s wiped the slate clean and has come out swinging - literally - in 2025, reminding us all once again just how important he is to this franchise, and just how much he means to the New York Mets.
Alonso has carried this team offensively so far, and he deserves all the flowers for coming out of the gate red-hot and coming up with clutch heroics day in and day out.
Around the League 🚩
Spencer Strider is set to join the Braves in Toronto coming up, paving the way for a return to an MLB mound for the ace
Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw will make a minor league rehab start on Wednesday
The Dodgers secured a 10th consecutive home win - dating back to last season - thanks to nine strikeouts and six scoreless innings from Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Marcus Stroman allowed five runs on four hits and left the game injured as the Yankees were blown out by the Giants, 9-1
Yainer Diaz hit a grand slam, and Cam Smith and Isaac Paredes also homered, as the Astros routed the Angels 14-3
Nick Pivetta tossed seven scoreless innings and struckout 10 to help the Padres cruise by the Rockies, 8-0
Former Met Jose Quintana made his Brewers debut on Friday, delivering seven scoreless frames and becoming just the 24th pitcher to earn a win against all of MLB’s current 30 teams
Game did not end on the sac fly, but on the next batter who grounded out
Pete deserves an entire bouquet
Where would we be without Pete so far this season? He's been awesome. I’m always worried when Diaz comes in and he’s making my neurosis worse. Not sure he finishes the year as the closer