logo
Pete Alonso snaps 0-fer slump with home run in Mets' loss

Pete Alonso snaps 0-fer slump with home run in Mets' loss

New York Post5 hours ago
Access the Mets beat like never before
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets. Try it free
Pete Alonso has been a part of the offensive malaise the Mets have been stuck in, with the first baseman having entered Friday's series opener against the Giants stuck in an 0-for-17 skid.
But Alonso sparked the Mets lineup in the seventh inning of a 4-3, 10-inning loss at Citi Field.
After striking out in each of his first two at-bats of the night against left-hander Robbie Ray, Alonso led off the bottom of the seventh.
With the Mets trailing by three runs and having not scored since Tuesday, Alonso proceeded to belt his 23rd homer of the season.
It cut the Mets' deficit to two runs and the shot to right-center was only the Mets' third hit of the night versus Ray.
The homer was also just Alonso's second homer in his past 18 games.
It left Alonso three home runs away from Darryl Strawberry's franchise record 252.
Alonso followed it up an inning later with a game-tying sacrifice fly.
Following Ray's departure after seven innings, the Mets got to San Francisco's bullpen.
Pete Alonso belts a solo homer in the seventh inning of the Mets' 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Giants on Aug. 1, 2025.
Robert Sabo / New York Post
Brandon Nimmo walked and Francisco Lindor singled to set up Juan Soto's run-scoring hit that ended up in short left field to make it 3-2, with runners on the corners.
Alonso's fly ball to center scored Lindor to tie the game at 3-3.
But after Ronny Mauricio's pinch-hit walk, Brett Baty — hitting for Mark Vientos — grounded out to keep the game tied.
Pete Alonso hits a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning of the Mets' loss to the Giants.
Robert Sabo / New York Post
Alonso also walked.
'There were some good signs from Pete today,' Carlos Mendoza said.
'When I get out of my plan, I chase off-speed [pitches],'' Alonso said. 'I chased some heaters tonight, but laid off the breaking stuff.'
The Mets have to hope Alonso's 414-foot, 110-mph home run — and the 108-mph sac fly off ex-teammate José Buttó — help get him going given he was just 5-for-60 with 19 strikeouts entering the game, part of a heart of the lineup that has been struggling.
Lindor entered just 9-for-63 with 19 strikeouts in his previous 14 games, while Soto was in a 4-for-37 rut before his RBI hit in the eighth.
Delivering insights on all things Amazin's
Sign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Puma, exclusively on Sports+
Thank you
Enter your email address
Please provide a valid email address.
By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter!
Check out more newsletters
Alonso, of course, helped carry the Mets offense for much of the first month of the season while Soto got his footing in Queens.
Only the Phillies' Kyle Schwarber has driven in more runs in the National League this season than Alonso, who is looking to get the Mets going down the stretch.
'This is what you play for,'' Alonso said. 'This is what it's all about.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tony Vitello discusses Chase Burns' pitching career ahead of MLB Speedway Classic
Tony Vitello discusses Chase Burns' pitching career ahead of MLB Speedway Classic

USA Today

time4 minutes ago

  • USA Today

Tony Vitello discusses Chase Burns' pitching career ahead of MLB Speedway Classic

Cincinnati (58-53) and Atlanta (46-63) will conclude a three-game series Saturday. Saturday's series finale will be contested at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. First pitch between the Braves and Reds is slated for 7:15 p.m. EDT and the National League contest will be televised by Fox. Former Tennessee pitcher Chase Burns (0-3) is projected to start for Cincinnati in the MLB Speedway Classic. He played for the Vols from 2022-23 before transferring to Wake Forest in 2024. Tennessee won the 2022 SEC Tournament and regular-season championship, and advanced to the 2023 College World Series. Burns was selected No. 2 overall in the first round of the 2024 MLB draft by the Reds. Ahead of Saturday's matchup at Bristol Motor Speedway, Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello appeared on MLB Network in Bristol and discussed his former pitcher. Vitello was asked what he thought of Burns when he saw him for the first time and what he thinks about him now in MLB. "It was actually just playing catch, and I saw his dad is extremely physical, so at the time he was a real lean skinny kid, but you had a hunch he was going to get more physical," Vitello said. "Just playing catch, an incredibly elastic arm with a lot of range of motion. You envision velocity, but it came in triple digits. It was also a deal where the right-handed slider against right-handed hitters was incredibly dominant. "We've talked off the side, I think there are a lot of people who like to pick at him because he's burst on the scene so quickly. The bottom line is, he's always been good, and he's good right now. It should make for a good matchup tomorrow." More: MLB Speedway Classic to feature starting pitchers with Knoxville ties More: Chase Burns pitches shutout in return to Knoxville Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).

Rob Manfred opens up on heated clubhouse confrontation with Bryce Harper
Rob Manfred opens up on heated clubhouse confrontation with Bryce Harper

New York Post

time4 minutes ago

  • New York Post

Rob Manfred opens up on heated clubhouse confrontation with Bryce Harper

Rob Manfred took the nothing-to-see-here approach when addressing being cursed out by Bryce Harper during a recent visit to the Phillies' clubhouse. The MLB commissioner spoke with reporters Friday after announcing the 2027 All-Star Game is headed to Wrigley Field and discussed the heated verbal confrontation with Harper last week, first reported by The Post's Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman. 'You know, I don't talk about those player meetings,' Manfred said in Chicago. 'Let me say this: I think more has been made out of this than needs to be made out of it. Bryce expressed his views, at the end of the meeting, we shook hands, and went our separate ways. Not all that significant.' Rob Manfred speaking in Chicago on Friday. Getty Images Harper told Manfred to leave the Phillies clubhouse if he was there to discuss the possibility of a salary cap in the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA), with ESPN reporting the first baseman told the commissioner he should 'get the f–k out' if that was the case. The visit was part of Manfred's annual tour of MLB teams and he was only about five minutes into seeing the Phillies when Harper strongly interjected himself. A salary cap has long been a contentious issue, with MLB being the only major sport without some form of one, and appears to be so again with the league's CBA set to expire after next season. The Phillies are among MLB's highest spending teams, fourth in the league at $289 million, only trailing the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees. Bryce Harper was not a fan of Rob Manfred's recent appearance in the Phillies' locker room. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images But there are also teams like the Marlins, who have a payroll of just $66 million. MLB has yet to publicly state what it wants at the bargaining table. But The Post reported the commissioner's office would like some form of a salary cap and there is the expectation of a lockout that could jeopardize a large portion of the 2027 season. Until then, Harper will be mostly focused on keeping the Phillies on top of the NL East as they battle with the Mets in his attempt to win his first World Series. Philadelphia enters Saturday a half-game ahead of the Mets after the latter lost their fourth straight game Friday night, this one a 4-3 home setback in 10 innings to the Giants.

Giants' reduced roster wins a tight one post-deadline: ‘We've not given up on you guys'
Giants' reduced roster wins a tight one post-deadline: ‘We've not given up on you guys'

New York Times

timean hour ago

  • New York Times

Giants' reduced roster wins a tight one post-deadline: ‘We've not given up on you guys'

NEW YORK — The energy pulsated through Citi Field in the ninth inning Friday night. Ryan Helsley, the former St. Louis Cardinals closer and most dominant reliever in the National League last season, jogged to the mound to AC/DC's 'Hells Bells' while making his debut with a new team. The New York Mets are using him as a set-up man. More cheers and more energy followed in the bottom of the ninth when Cedric Mullins, a one-time All-Star and Silver Slugger with the Baltimore Orioles, made his debut as a pinch hitter. Here in Queens, he'll be a bench bat. Advertisement The Mets were like most contending clubs, loading up prior to Thursday night's trade deadline. They got stronger on paper. Just as significantly, they got stronger in their own minds. There is no underselling the importance of a vote of confidence from management, especially when that confidence is expressed in actions and not merely in words. Almost every NL contender received that vote of confidence in one form or another, welcoming a wave of roster reinforcements. Several of the biggest acquisitions were in the bullpen. The Mets got Helsley. The San Diego Padres added former A's closer and strikeout machine Mason Miller to an already daunting collection of relief arms. The Philadelphia Phillies gave up two top prospects to get Jhoan Duran and his 100 mph splinker from the Minnesota Twins. Up till 48 hours before the trade deadline, the San Francisco Giants could make a statistical claim that their bullpen was the best in the league. It was the only part of their roster that merited superlatives. Not anymore. Fed up with their inattentive and sloppy play, which culminated in their first 0-6 homestand since 1896, Giants president Buster Posey pivoted into a selling posture. He subtracted longtime setup man Tyler Rogers on Wednesday. Closer Camilo Doval followed him out the door on Thursday. When the Giants arrived at Citi Field to begin a three-game series Friday night, they endured the odd sight of Rogers, who generates the softest contact from the most fearsome swings, warming up in the other bullpen. All of this put Giants manager Bob Melvin in an awkward position with two months of baseball to play. How do you instill confidence in the clubhouse when the front office's actions indicate otherwise? How do you harden the resolve of an underachieving team forced to listen when their opponents introduce new additions to their cheering fans? How do you reset the paradigm when the losses keep piling up? How do you keep an unimproved team from punching the clock and playing out the string? In a pregame meeting, Melvin's remarks were brief. He encouraged his players to look around the room. Advertisement 'The message team is not, 'We've given up on you guys,'' Melvin said. 'It's not at all. Our big core pieces are still here.' So a team with Matt Chapman and Willy Adames and Rafael Devers and Jung Hoo Lee took the mound behind All-Star left-hander Robbie Ray Friday night. They played clean baseball and took a two-run lead in the eighth inning. When an especially unlucky bounce allowed the Mets to tie the score in the eighth, the game turned into a duel between bullpens. And the Giants, with reduced personnel and a freshly minted closer, prevailed. The Giants scored their automatic runner on Dom Smith's single in the top of the 10th, then Randy Rodríguez struck out pinch hitter Ronny Mauricio to strand the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning. The Giants' 4-3 victory didn't put them back on the path to contention, but it allowed them to reset their record at .500 and put mental distance between themselves and the winless homestand that forced management to reconsider their trade deadline strategy. Randy Rodriguez tosses 💯 to close it out 🔥 — SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 2, 2025 It didn't make any sense that the Giants fell into a tailspin after the mid-June blockbuster trade that brought Devers from the Boston Red Sox. Who knows? Maybe it won't make any sense for a reduced roster to storm its way back into postseason relevance in August. 'We know we have to be better and play more games like that,' said Adames, who speared a hard grounder to start a double play behind Ray in the third inning. 'And I feel today was a big game to get in a different mood. It's been tough. The boys are feeling it. They knew that tonight, we had to make an adjustment and win that game no matter how. And it went our way. I mean … it almost didn't. But we found a way to be on top.' Advertisement The Mets tied it in the eighth against left-hander Joey Lucchesi, who has elevated himself from non-roster fungibility to a prime relief role. But the Mets received a huge break when Juan Soto's ground ball up the middle clipped Lucchesi's leg and caromed away from Adames for an RBI single. 'It was coming straight at me,' Adames said. ' That's why we were like, 'What the heck is going on?' That was an easy double play. He didn't hit it hard and I was right there. I would've done it myself.' It was the kind of break that's been going against the Giants in recent weeks. They had to endure another with two outs in the 10th when umpires ruled that Pete Alonso checked his swing with a full count. Rodríguez had no margin for error with the bases loaded and threw four consecutive fastballs to Ronny Mauricio, striking him out with a 100.1 mph four-seamer at the knees. 'Look, we had to work hard to get it,' Melvin said. 'The check swing call was ridiculous on Alonso. (Rodríguez) had to go through another guy. But, you know, (facing the) top of the order, man on second to start the inning, that was pretty spectacular for Randy to leave everyone out there. 'We're going through a lot of stuff right now and that one felt like, 'What else can go wrong?' But to battle through and get a win is huge.' The Giants didn't move the needle on their playoff odds Friday. The Padres, now with more fangs in their Cerberus of a bullpen, also won to maintain a six-game lead over the Giants for the final wild-card spot. As much as Melvin stressed that the Giants retained their core pieces, including Ray, who took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, there is plenty of important value to be found on the margins of a roster, too. The 2021 team, an ensemble cast, can present its 107 regular-season victories as evidence. While other contenders added seasoned role players to their roster margins, the Giants called up outfielder Grant McCray and infielder Christian Koss and they will hand the baseball on Saturday to Kai-Wei Teng, a right-hander they designated for assignment a year ago. Teng has made major strides this season at Triple-A Sacramento. He's the best hope they have right now. Advertisement Perhaps soon, the Giants will introduce right-hander Blade Tidwell or outfielder Drew Gilbert, whom they obtained from the Mets for Rogers. They'll have no reason not to take a look at Jesus Rodríguez, the contact-hitting catcher who headlined the New York Yankees' otherwise underwhelming four-player prospect package to acquire Doval. If McCray can't stick, then Gilbert looms as a potential 24-year-old version of Mike Yastrzemski. There is still a chance for the Giants to make something positive out of a frustrating season. It'd help, of course, if Devers didn't strike out in each of his first four at-bats, as he did Friday. Or if Lee can turn more of his soft contact outs into sharply hit singles and doubles. The Giants players who remain understand this much: if it's not working, Posey will step in to make changes. 'Making moves like that showed the players that, hey, look, we're going to do something a little bit different,' Melvin said. 'And maybe that's the case now. Maybe that's part of the message to these guys: We've gotta do things a little differently.' (Photo of catcher Patrick Bailey and Rodríguez celebrating the win: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store