Mets' Pete Alonso delivers polar opposite of his recent performance at plate with go-ahead homer in Game 3 vs. Brewers
Pete Alonso #20 of the Mets hits a home run in the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers during Game Three of the Wild Card Series at American Family Field on October 03, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Credit: Getty Images/Patrick McDermott
MILWAUKEE — As long as Pete Alonso still had a bat in his hands, he had a chance to change the narrative. And in Thursday night’s do-or-die Game 3 of their Wild Card Series against the Brewers, with everything at stake for the Mets, their homegrown slugger came through with the biggest hit of his orange-and-blue career.
Mired in a perplexing slump, seemingly devoid of his usual power, Alonso stepped to the plate in the ninth inning with the Mets down 2-0 and down to the final two outs of their season. He faced Devin Williams, the Brewers’ supernatural closer, and worked the count to 3-and-1.
What happened next is now the stuff of Mets legend. Williams tried to catch Alonso off-balance with a changeup. Instead, Alonso hit a high-arcing fly ball to rightfield that traveled 367 feet over the fence for the Mets’ only homer of the series.
As the jubilant Mets watched the ball’s flight, Alonso rounded first base and gestured in a chef’s kiss, the coup de grace to the Brewers, as he personally delivered an incredible, improbable 4-2 victory that propelled the Mets into a Division Series showdown with the Phillies.
“It’s that next-pitch mentality,’’ Alonso said. “You can’t change what’s happened in the past. And every at-bat, every pitch, every inning, I want to do the best I can. I’m focused on that. Nothing’s guaranteed in baseball, but for me, I wanted to be in that spot. I wanted to deliver for my team. I want to contribute in a positive way.”
For weeks, Alonso had looked as if he were paving his way out of Flushing, as it appeared the weight of his looming free-agent decision might have been weighing on his mind. Since Sept. 19, the date of his last home run, he had gone 5-for-41 (.122) without an extra-base hit, 13 strikeouts and one RBI.
As the Mets stared into the October abyss Thursday night, trailing 2-0 in the first do-or-die game of their adversity-riddled season, Alonso was dealing with the potential end to his Flushing career. But just when the Brewers were on the verge of overpowering the Mets with two seventh-inning homers off Jose Butto, on consecutive pitches to pinch hitter Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick, Alonso provided the counter-punch that Carlos Mendoza always talks about.
This time of year is stressful enough, particularly with the Mets barely squeezing their way into the wild-card round. But Alonso carrying extra emotional baggage — the possibility of this being his final days wearing the only major-league uniform he’s ever known — is heavy stuff.
Alonso’s subpar regular season, in all likelihood, already had seriously damaged his free-agent status, even with master negotiator Scott Boras representing him. The one Hail Mary he had left was a big October, and Alonso repeatedly coming up small wasn’t helping anyone — not his asking price and especially not the Mets.
Shortly after their series-tying Game 2 loss on Wednesday, Alonso was asked about perhaps taking the field for the last time in a Mets uniform. The question was the elephant in the clubhouse, taking up residence in his locker, first in the waning days of the regular season, then once the playoffs began. But it loomed large Thursday night.
“I really haven’t thought of it,” he said. “Because my whole focus is just going deep in the playoffs.”
Before Thursday night’s heroics, all Alonso had done since the beginning of the 2019 season was hit more homers (226) than anyone not named Aaron Judge (232) and become one of the Mets’ most popular players, rising to his Polar Bear prominence through that mighty swing (and a pair of Home Run Derby titles on the national stage).
Before the Mets became a playoff-caliber team again, with their second postseason appearance in three years, Alonso was the main gate attraction, aside from the nights Jacob deGrom took the mound.
This October, however, Alonso’s Flushing legacy was showing cracks. His most notable use of a bat during Wednesday’s loss came in the first inning, when he somehow stepped on it, then fell to all fours as he tried to beat out a double-play grounder to shortstop.
With runners at first and third, Alonso initially had a decent shot at edging the throw — Willy Adames dived to make the grab, then bobbled the ball before starting the relay. But it turned into a futile effort for Alonso once he sprawled on the ground, and the Mets were denied a key run in a tight game.
“It’s never happened in my career, ever,” he said. “I know it’s just weird.”
No one will be talking about that pratfall anymore, Pete.
On Thursday, he was down to perhaps his final opportunity to change the narrative and deliver a memorable blast that will be treasured in Mets playoff history for years to come.
And this time he did.
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.
