Pete Alonso achieves another statistical feat in Mets' win over Mariners
Mets’ Pete Alonso (20) hits a home run in the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at Citi Field, Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023. Credit: Corey Sipkin
Highlighting the Mets’ 6-3 win over the Mariners on Sunday at Citi Field was another feat of prodigious power from Pete Alonso.
His pair of home runs — a 116-mph laser to leftfield in the third inning and a drive to left-center in the seventh — brought his 2023 total to 41.
That makes three seasons of at least 40 homers in his career.
How many such seasons by everybody else in the history of the Mets combined? Yup, also three. Todd Hundley, Mike Piazza and Carlos Beltran each did it once.
“Doing it consistently can for sure put a target on your back,” Alonso said. “I know that I’m going to get everybody’s best stuff, because sometimes when they make a mistake, it goes a long way. Or if there’s a mistake and there’s a guy on base, not only can I drive the ball out of the yard, but I know how to manufacture a run with a [single] the other way or a sac fly or having a quality out.”
In major-league history, the only other players to have three seasons of at least 40 homers within their first five years are Ralph Kiner (four), Eddie Mathews, Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard.
“I mean, holy [expletive],” Alonso said. “That’s impressive names. I had no idea. That’s kind of mind-baffling.”
Alonso also collected four RBIs, giving him 100, the third time he has reached that round number, too.
“The one thing I’m really excited about is the RBI thing,” he said. “That just means everybody in front of me is putting together high-quality at-bats.”
Manager Buck Showalter said: “He’s special.”
Jeff McNeil (2-for-4, homer) and Brandon Nimmo, (2-for-3, walk) also had standout days.
Ronny Mauricio, who collected his fifth hit in three games since his promotion Friday, had an impressive sequence in the second inning when he singled, stole second and scored on Francisco Alvarez’s single.
Righthander Tylor Megill gave up three runs and five hits in 5 1⁄3 innings. He was sharp aside from a blip in the fourth, when Dominic Canzone and Mike Ford hit back-to-back home runs with two outs.
The Mets got to Mariners righthander George Kirby, a Rye native, for four runs (three earned) in three innings.
Vientos update
Mark Vientos did not get his sore right foot checked out by doctors and will just have to play through it for the next four weeks, he said.
He explained the discomfort as being in the “inside of the arch” of his foot.
Showalter said the issue stems from cleats that Vientos has found uncomfortable. He expects Vientos back in the lineup on Tuesday.
“It’s just one of those pains that I’m going to have to deal with till the end of the season,” Vientos said. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
