Mets return to Citi Field for a hero's welcome, and another victory with NLDS Game 3 triumph
Jose Iglesias #11 and Pete Alonso #20 of the Mets celebrate after Game 3 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. Credit: Jim McIsaac
On a night when Citi Field rocked and roared like few others in the building’s 16-year history, the Mets played like a team that never wants the party to end.
And supplied the snapshots to prove it during Tuesday night’s 7-2 win over the Phillies, a Game 3 victory that now has them one away from advancing to the NLCS for the first time since 2015.
The magnificent Sean Manaea, after stifling the Phillies into the eighth inning, leaving the mound to a standing ovation while clapping into his glove to return the applause, then tipping his cap for the final few steps.
Pete Alonso, the homegrown slugger who refuses to say goodbye, giving the Mets a second-inning lead they’d never surrender with a rafter-shaking solo homer off the upper-deck facade in rightfield. Jesse Winker later out-driving the mighty Alonso, with a rocket-blast of his own that seemed headed for the glowing Coca-Cola sign before landing halfway up that second deck.
After so many white-knuckle finishes during the two-week road trip that launched this playoff run, the Mets mostly spared their fans the late-inning drama, but made this highly-improbable, yet hotly-anticipated homecoming worth the wait. Manaea fiercely protected that 2-0 lead by giving up only three hits over seven-plus innings, his lone credited run allowed in by reliever Phil Maton.
Playoff baseball, a rarity in Queens, was supposed to become an autumn ritual at Citi Field under Steve Cohen’s ownership. As identifiable with October as 50-foot skeletons and pumpkin-spice everything.
Before Tuesday, however, the Mets’ only postseason trip of the Cohen Era left a lingering sour taste in Flushing, where the Padres turned out the lights in the wild card round to finish a disappointing 2022.
This year, the vibe was totally different. The Mets were riding a two-week high as they rolled home for Tuesday’s Game 3, not only clinching a playoff berth on the road but dealing the Brewers a first-round exit in Milwaukee and then splitting the first two games of this Division Series with an epic weekend battle in Philly.
In the hours leading up to Tuesday’s first pitch, Cohen was outside the ballpark greeting fans and taking selfies. During the pregame intros, Alonso and Francisco Lindor received the loudest ovations, which had to feel somewhat strange for a team that had experienced nothing but boos during their two-week odyssey trying to get back to Citi Field.
“It's definitely going to bring a different energy being home here, for sure,” Lindor said before Game 3. “But at the end of the day, we were giving everything we had on the road, and we're going to do the same thing here at home. It's one of those where it don't matter where we're playing, we've got to go out there and give everything we got.”
By now, how could you expect otherwise from these Mets? And none other than Alonso — trying to guarantee his Mets career lasts as long as possible before free agency — was the first to ignite the Citi crowd by taking Aaron Nola, his personal BP pitcher, off the second-deck facade in rightfield.
It was Alonso’s third homer in four games, dating back to the season-saver last Thursday in Milwaukee, only this time he heard ecstatic cheers for his second-inning blast. Unlike with Alonso’s Brewers-beater, history provided some foreshadowing this time around. He entered Tuesday hitting .320 (16-for-50) off Nola with three doubles, five homers, 11 RBIs and a 1.050 OPS. No surprise then that Alonso jumped on a first-pitch fastball, launching it 385 feet. After weeks of being asked about potentially playing his last game for the Mets, Alonso seems determined to stack up as many of those chances as possible during this October run.
“I just want him to go out there and be himself, embrace the moment and embrace the situation,” Mendoza said Tuesday afternoon. “Just be Pete Alonso.”
Fortunately for the Mets, Alonso has done a great job of that, effectively sweeping aside the talk of his sub-par regular season. He’s also had plenty of company in the hero department, too. Look at Winker, who was picked up at the trade deadline and meshed so seamlessly that it feels like he’s called Flushing home for years.
Winker used to be one of the Mets’ most irritating foes. Now he’s working for them as a chief agitator — doing damage and trash-talking about it the whole time. On Tuesday, after Winker was robbed by Nick Castellanos’ leaping grab at the wall in the second inning, he came up with an effective solution the next time up: drill one 50 feet over the rightfielder’s head.
Winker demolished Nola’s 94-mph heater, then stood statue-still in the batter’s box to admire every inch of the homer’s 399-foot flight. He didn’t even take his first step until the ball finally landed halfway up the second deck, not all that far from the flagpole that flies the Mets’ NL championship pennants.
Maybe it’s too early to start thinking about such lofty goals. But the Mets got one big step closer with Tuesday’s Flushing party. And another champagne bash, which would be the first-ever at Citi Field, doesn’t feel all that far behind.
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.
