Francisco Alvarez gets Mets' 10-game test off to a roaring start
Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (4) is doused after hitting the game winning home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Credit: Noah K. Murray
The doomsayers in Metsville predicted that this upcoming 10-game stretch, a make-or-break charge through a wave of playoff contenders on two coasts, loomed as a funeral for this team’s wild-card hopes.
On Monday night, it began as a party, thanks to Francisco Alvarez’s walk-off homer with one out in the ninth inning for a 4-3 victory over the powerful Orioles, the surest sign yet that maybe Carlos Mendoza & Co. are a long way from being finished.
One down, nine to go. And if Alvarez’s power stroke is back to being a weapon for the Mets, they figure to be far more dangerous in the next six weeks.
After getting the green light on a 3-and-0 count, Alvarez hammered a 98-mph fastball from newly anointed Orioles closer Seranthony Dominguez, driving it 421 feet to left-centerfield.
It not only was Alvarez’s first career walk-off blast but his first home run of any kind since July 26.
“He lives for these moments,” said Brandon Nimmo, whose sore right shoulder made him a spectator Monday. “Huge for the team. Huge for Alvy.”
Alvy’s rocket, which ignited one of Citi Field’s most raucous celebrations this season — on the field and in the stands — capped a very encouraging day for the Mets.
Alvarez’s months of frustration spilled out in a joyous romp around the bases, with many of his teammates jumping alongside him for much of the first 90 feet before reversing their tracks to welcome him home.
The young catcher was so excited that he skipped right past the plate, later walking back around to touch it after many of the Mets had cleared away.
A few moments later, Pete Alonso chased him with a Gatorade bucket, soaking him with its contents three times.
“It’s been hard for him,” Mendoza said of Alvarez’s struggles. “He cares so much and he wants to win, and at times, when we’re struggling offensively as a team, he feels like he’s responsible . . . For him to finally hit one out of the ballpark, it’s been a while. And in that situation, to give us a win, I’m happy for him.”
Just as Alvarez needed a boost to his self-esteem, the Mets got a jolt of confidence on the heels of their lackluster 3-3 week against the A’s and Marlins. But there was other encouraging news before Monday night’s dramatic win.
While it’s bad karma to revel in the misfortune of your closest wild-card competitors, you can’t blame the Mets for feeling a little more positive about their playoff chances even before David Peterson threw the first pitch of Monday night’s series opener against the Orioles.
Two seismic events occurred that afternoon in the span of a few hours. Atlanta added to its already debilitating body count, placing two-time All-Star Austin Riley on the injured list with a fractured hand that will sideline him for the remainder of the regular season. That was followed by the Diamondbacks putting MVP candidate Ketel Marte on the IL with a sprained ankle. He will miss the Mets’ pivotal visit to Arizona next week.
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and let’s face it, the Mets hadn’t been all that great lately, entering Monday with a 7-9 record this month.
On paper, the 73-win Orioles are fearsome enough, but they’re now 20-22 since July 1, and the Mets weren’t facing Cy Young Award candidate Corbin Burnes or No. 2 Grayson Rodriguez.
“We know where we’re at in the schedule, how important every game is and who we’re playing,” Mendoza said before the game. “But at the end of the day, our job is to get wins, and we’ll treat it that way. We’re not looking that far ahead.”
In the short term, the Mets for a change were the benefactors of some positive injury news when Nimmo’s MRI for his dinged-up shoulder came back clean Monday afternoon. And once the game began, they took an early 3-0 lead against the AL East co-leader on a two-run homer by J.D. Martinez in the first inning and Tyrone Taylor’s two-out RBI single in the fourth.
Peterson was nearly flawless before a sudden sequence in the seventh resulted in a 3-3 tie — a two-out balk that plated a run and a solo homer by Ramon Urias on the next pitch.
Still, Peterson’s seven-inning performance capped a four-game stretch of superb starts, highlighted by Luis Severino’s four-hit shutout. If the rotation has corrected itself, along with Alvarez’s muscular impact on the lineup, the Mets should have nothing to fear about the challenging road ahead.
“It feels very good,” Alvarez said. “We’re fighting to make the playoffs, so I think the biggest thing is I help the team a lot.”
Thanks to Alvarez, the Mets suddenly seem better equipped for that fight.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
