Pete Alonso goes off in statement win over Dodgers
Pete Alonso goes off in statement win over Dodgers
The Mets came back from a three-run deficit and scored eight unanswered runs. Plus, how New York may not be outclassed after all.
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾
The Mets pounded the Dodgers on Saturday night, scoring eight unanswered runs on their way to a 9-4 win (box)
After falling behind 4-1 in the second, the Mets immediately responded with a four-run inning of their own, capped by a two-run home run from Pete Alonso
Alonso has now hit seven home runs in 11 career games at Dodger Stadium
After his two home run performance, Alonso now has three 5+ RBI games this season, the most by a Mets player since Carlos Beltrán in 2006
Francisco Lindor and Eduardo Escobar also contributed solo shots of their own and Alonso, Escobar, Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte all had multi-hit games
LHP David Peterson allowed four runs (one earned) over 3.2 IP, but the Mets bullpen picked him up with 5.1 innings of scoreless relief
The Mets earned their 13th comeback win of the season last night, are 17-11 on the road, 27-3 when scoring five or more runs and 11-8 against the NL West
RHP Jacob deGrom (stress reaction in shoulder) threw a 19-pitch bullpen session on Saturday at Citi Field, the first time he has thrown off a mound since he was shutdown in late March
RHP Tylor Megill (biceps tendinitis) will make a rehab start with Double-A Binghamton today
RHP Max Scherzer (strained oblique) was recently bitten by his dog on his hand at home in Jupiter, Florida. Scherzer said on Twitter it will not impact his ability to continue his throwing program during his rehab in Port St. Lucie
Who’s Hot 🔥
1B Pete Alonso is now tied for the National League lead with 16 home runs and leads the majors with 53 RBI. He has three home runs and six RBI against the Dodgers over the last two games and 11 home runs with 32 RBI over his last 26 games overall (Mets are 17-9 during that span)
Despite starting 0-for-8 in this series against the Dodgers, after his two hits last night Starling Marte is hitting .321/.345/.536 with eight doubles, two triples, four home runs and 14 RBI over his last 26 games
3B Eduardo Escobar has recorded two multi-hit games in this series against the Dodgers and is hitting .314/.308/.510 with four doubles, two home runs and eight RBI in his last 12 games
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (36-19) at Dodgers (35-18)
Where: Dodger Stadium — Los Angeles, CA
Starters: RHP Trevor Williams (1-3, 3.58 ERA) vs LHP Julio Urías (3-5, 2.89 ERA)
When: 4:10 PM EST
Where to Watch: SNY
Outclassed? Not so fast… 📝
For the first 20 innings or so in Los Angeles, the Mets looked like a team that was outclassed. I said as much on Twitter, to mixed reactions. Despite how you felt about it, it was hard to disagree with at the time.
After the first two frames on Saturday night, the Dodgers had outscored the Mets 12-1 to start the series. This is the same Dodger club that New York had gone 5-24 against since the start of 2017 entering the night. Since defeating them in the 2015 NLDS, the Mets have won just one series vs the Dodgers, when they took two of three in September of 2018. In that same timespan, L.A. has swept them four times.
After it looked like things may be headed that way again last night, staring at a 4-1 deficit after a four-run frame by the Dodgers in the second, the Mets made their first statement against their West Coast nemeses.
Thanks to Pete Alonso, who is blossoming into a legitimate MVP candidate in his own right, and his two-homer, five-RBI night, the Mets offense exploded after two nights in the doldrums and scored eight unanswered runs to win the game going away. It was just their fourth win at Dodger Stadium over the last six seasons.
“Today, I think we showed we’re just as good, if not better than they are,” Alonso told reporters after the win.
And while this may sound like a pretty bold statement after winning just one out of the first three games of the series and could be viewed similarly as the “we got this” proclamation of 2021, it feels a bit more legitimate this time around.
The Mets know that the National League pennant will ultimately run through Hollywood, and that the Dodgers will likely be their biggest obstacle in their quest for a world championship in 2022. This is a team that has dominated the league for years now, and that the Mets themselves have been chewed up by several times along the way. For them to have a win like this instills a confidence that maybe they’re not as outclassed as some people may have thought and that perhaps they can legitimately compete with them. This isn’t just any old series in June for the Mets but instead their first litmus test against baseball’s best.
While they still need to go out there and do it again on Sunday to ensure a series split to back up Alonso’s postgame chatter, this will ultimately and perhaps inevitably come down to an October showdown for the ages. And while regular season success doesn’t necessarily promise similar results in the postseason — just ask the 2015 Cubs (7-0 vs the Mets) or the 1988 Dodgers (1-11 vs the Mets) — it can provide a team with the necessary confidence going into a do-or-die clash that they belong on the same field as their opponent.
And though it’s only one game, Saturday night was the first small step for the Mets toward earning that confidence.
Down on the Farm 🌾
Dominic Smith (1B, Triple-A): 2-for-5, HR, RBI, 2 runs scored
Khalil Lee (OF, No. 7 Prospect, Triple-A): 2-for-4, 2B, run scored
Francisco Álvarez (C, No. 1 Prospect, Double-A): 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
Joe Suozzi (OF, High-A): 3-for-4, 3 RBI, run scored
Box Scores: Triple-A | Double-A | High-A | Single-A (PPD)
Around the League 🚩
Nationals RF Juan Soto’s two home runs keyed a 10-8 comeback win against the Reds in Cincinnati on Saturday
3B/LF Miguel Andújar has requested a trade from the Yankees (Héctor Gómez)
Blue Jays RHP José Berrios struck out 13 and the club hit three home runs in their 12-3 rout of the Twins
Phillies RHP Zack Wheeler struck out nine and earned the win as the club beat the reeling Angels 7-2, extending their losing streak to 10 games
Dodgers OF Kevin Pillar has suffered a shoulder fracture and will require surgery