Mets’ Pete Alonso hopes to ride early season homer barrage ‘as long as I can’
Pete Alonso has been the man for the Mets so far this season.
When they’ve needed a big hit he’s been there to step up and get the job done. That was the case again on Sunday afternoon in the series finale against the Oakland Athletics.
After receiving five strong innings from Jose Butto, the Mets were trying to piece together the final four with a depleted bullpen. That worked out until the eighth inning, when Shea Langeliers put Oakland back in front 3-2 on a two-run double.
The A’s then turned to closer Dany Jimenez to try to secure the win.
Francisco Lindor, who had already homered in the game, led off the inning with a hard line out to second. Alonso then dug in and crushed a 2-1 fastball 430 feet to dead center to even things up at three.
The Mets, of course, went on to win 4-3 in extra innings, securing the series sweep. Postgame, Alonso noted how important it was to start such a tough roadtrip on a high note.
“To sweep someone on the road that’s extremely hard to do. Us coming out here for two weeks is a pretty big challenge for us. We played really good ball this series, hopefully we can continue to play great team baseball.”
The Mets now head into a three-game set with the Los Angeles Dodgers riding a four game winning streak. They’ve won seven of their last ten and three straight series.
Alonso, who has been putting his power on full display early, has been a huge part of that. His homer on Sunday was his league-leading eighth of the season. He’s also posted a .369 OBP, 1.030 OPS, and 13 RBI through 15 games.
Alonso said postgame that he’s been feeling really comfortable at the plate early on this season.
“Hopefully I can continue to ride this for as long as I can. I feel like I’m seeing the ball really well, body feels good. Just want to continue capitalizing on pitches in my zone and minimizing chase.”
With his two home runs this weekend, Alonso is now tied for fifth with Dave Kingman on the Mets’ all-time home run leaders with 154. He also moved into a fifth place tie with Carlos Beltran for the most road home runs in franchise history (88).
While nether Alonso nor Buck Showalter have an exact explanation for his success away from Citi Field, the skipper suggests it’s because he’s so consistent day in and day out.
“Home, away, spring training. Pete’s the same guy, he walks through the door everyday. Guys that have a consistent mentality seem to do better on the road. He can take the emotion out of an at-bat and that’s important on the road.”
Alonso will look to continue his early season and road success on Monday night against Dodgers right-hander Dustin May.
Source: Yahoo Sports
