The New York Mets took the opener of their high stakes three-game series with the San Diego Padres 8-3 on Tuesday.
The New York lineup did all of their damage in the first four innings and cruised to the finish line. Third baseman Brett Baty, shortstop Francisco Lindor, first baseman Pete Alonso and center fielder Cedric Mullins all hit mammoth home runs.
This was a refreshing look, as the team just hasn’t gotten much going offensively as of late. The Mets have won just two of their last 10 games while clinging onto the last National League Wild Card spot.
The Mets need their star players to carry them into the postseason and provide soft landing spots for a questionable starting rotation.
One of those star players is Alonso, who has a player option for the 2026 season. Rumors and speculation have followed Alonso since last year regarding his situation with the Mets.
Mets field reporter Steve Gelbs asked Alonso if going through the rumors last season will help with them this season and if the noise is different.
“No, because last year everyone said ‘This can potentially be this, this can potentially be that,’ and look where we are,” Alonso said on Wednesday. “Potentials and hypotheticals, it might as well be fairy dust. It doesn't matter. 'This could potentially be Pete Alonso's last at-bat as a Met,' how many times did people say that [last year]? Let's pump the brakes on that.”
Gelbs suggested that it might be hard to keep contract thoughts out of Alonso’s mind, but Alonso said he doesn’t think about it.
“The people asking me are thinking about it more than I am, even when I'm going through it,” said Alonso. “I've got a job to do today, I can't think about hypotheticals - I don't have time! I've got to get my foot down and be ready to hit a 100 MPH fastball today. All of that stuff is meaningless - to me, at least.”
Alonso, 30, was a fan-favorite from the day he debuted. He has 261 home runs and 704 RBI in 997 games as a Met. On the season, he is hitting .268 with 35 home runs, 118 RBI and an .859 OPS in 151 games.
New York has a one-and-a-half game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL Wild Card spot with 11 games remaining and continue their series with the Padres on Wednesday.