Pete Alonso sparks Mets offense en route to a win in Philadelphia

The Mets defeated the Phillies 7-2 in the first game of their four-game set at Citizens Bank Park. It was a solid bounce back effort after New York dropped three out of four games to the Braves, and it was an especially important victory with the rotation uncertainty they are facing over the weekend.

The Mets made Aaron Nola work all evening and forced him out after five innings, just five days after he tossed a complete game gem against them (albeit in a loss). The Mets got Philadelphia’s ace right hander to throw over 20 pitches in the first, third, and fifth innings, including a 36-pitch third, which is especially crucial with a doubleheader tomorrow. The Mets jumped in front in the first when Pete Alonso drove in his 100th run on a fielder’s choice. In doing so, he became the fastest Met to reach the 100 RBI plateau, doing it in the team’s 120th game (Robin Ventura, Mike Piazza and Carlos Beltran each did it in 122 games). Two innings later, Alonso launched a two-run homer gave him 30 for the reason and tied Aaron Judge for the major league lead with 102 RBI. In doing so, Alonso also became just the fifth Met to have three 30-homer seasons, joining Howard Johnson, Dave Kingman, Darryl Strawberry, and Piazza.

The Mets weren’t done there, as they added a run later in the third when Jeff McNeil drove in Daniel Vogelbach, who doubled earlier in the frame. The Mets added their fifth run in the fifth inning when Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte executed a perfect double steal, allowing the quick-footed Marte to sprint home when J.T. Realmuto threw to second to try and get Lindor. The sixth and seventh runs came courtesy of a Bretty Baty bases loaded, two-out, two-strike single against Philadelphia’s bullpen.

On the mound for the Mets, Chris Bassitt once again labored against Philadelphia, but he persevered to get through six innings when it looked like he might not get through the fifth. He especially labored in that fifth inning, eventually surrendering a two-run single to Met Killer Kyle Schwarber. He got out of the inning with 94 pitches, but he was left in for the sixth with the team turning to David Peterson and Trevor Williams in the two ends of Saturday’s doubleheader. It was a gutsy performance from the Mets’ right-hander, and one they badly needed in order to preserve the bullpen for the rest of the weekend. Adam Ottavino, Joely Rodriguez, and Trevor May each pitched scoreless innings to finish off the win.

With the victory, the Mets have taken 12 out of 16 games against the rival Phillies this season. They will try to continue that run of dominance while also continuing their stellar play in doubleheaders as they take on the Phillies twice on Saturday.

Box scores

MLB
ESPN

Win Probability Added

Fangraphs.com

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Pete Alonso, 24.1% WPA
Big Mets loser: Tyler Naquin, -7.1% WPA
Mets pitchers: 22.1% WPA
Mets hitters: 27.9% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Pete Alonso two-run home run, 17.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Bradley Zimmer fifth inning double, -6.9% WPA

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