Pete Alonso's home run, four RBIs power Mets past Giants
Mets' Pete Alonso, right, is congratulated by Tommy Pham (28) after hitting a two-run home run against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Thursday, April 20, 2023. Credit: AP/Tony Avelar
SAN FRANCISCO — As the Mets keep racking up the wins, so too does Pete Alonso the accomplishments.
They beat Giants, 9-4, on Thursday night to nab a sixth victory in seven games. Leading the way was Alonso, who mashed his ninth home run and totaled four RBIs.
Alonso’s 155th career long ball moved him into fifth on the Mets’ all-time list, breaking a tie with Dave Kingman. And he is up to 399 RBIs, tied with Rusty Staub for 13th most in franchise history.
Oh, and his three-week-old season is off to an awfully strong start as well. He ranks first in the majors in home runs, tied for fourth in RBIs (19), tied for fourth in slugging percentage (.649) and 11th in OPS (1.024).
“I feel in control right now,” he said. “Which is a really good feeling. I’m taking pitches, borderline pitches, and capitalizing on stuff in my zone . . . I’m dictating the at-bat. If a pitcher executes, that’s great. Tip my hat. But I’m in complete control of when I swing the bat and not.”
Manager Buck Showalter said: “He’s been dialing up just about anything we need.”
Brandon Nimmo added three more hits — upping his average to .368 — and Jeff McNeil got on base four times, including with a home run. Even the slumping Eduardo Escobar added a long ball for the Mets (13-7).
Alonso struck for the Mets’ first runs with a two-run shot in the fourth, the start of a five-run inning that triggered the removal of lefthander Sean Manaea (3 2/3 innings, five runs).
The Giants (9-12) got to within a run, but Alonso helped the Mets re-expand the lead when his single in the seventh plated a pair of runs.
Righthander Kodai Senge was very good for four innings but unraveled in a 30-pitch final frame, finishing with a mediocre final line: five innings, five hits, four runs. He walked four and struck out four.
Senga has a 4.29 ERA through four starts. He has issued at least three walks in each game.
“Nothing really changed between the fourth and the fifth inning,” Senga said through an interpreter. “Just wasn’t able to locate or they had my number.”
Showalter said: “I know he’s a little frustrated because he probably had a little longer outing [in him]. We were hoping to get six or seven out of him tonight with his pitch count where it was.”
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.
