The New York Mets learned Tuesday night that trying to win games without Francisco Lindor is a lot easier when vintage Pete Alonso appears.
The Mets will look to continue solidifying their spot in the National League wild-card race by completing a sweep of the visiting Washington Nationals Wednesday night, when the NL East rivals conclude a three-game series.
Jose Quintana (9-9, 3.91 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against fellow left-hander DJ Herz (4-7, 3.70 ERA).
Alonso homered and finished with five RBIs Tuesday as the Mets rolled to a 10-1 win.
The lopsided victory was part of a fruitful evening for the Mets (83-68), who moved two games ahead of the Atlanta Braves in the race for the third and final NL wild card by virtue of the Braves’ 6-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
New York also moved into a tie with Arizona for the second wild card thanks to the Diamondbacks’ 8-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies. The Mets have the tiebreaker against Arizona by winning the season series 4-3.
The best news for the Mets might have been a long-awaited breakout performance from Alonso, who hadn’t collected more than two RBIs in a game since Aug. 14. He hit .226 with six homers, 13 RBIs and 40 strikeouts in 106 at-bats over the subsequent 30 games.
Alonso was 4-for-11 without an extra base hit in the previous three games, a span in which the Mets scored just seven runs while Lindor was limited to one inning due to a sore back. But with Lindor watching from the bench again Tuesday, Alonso blooped a two-run single in the fourth inning before hitting a 375-foot, three-run homer in the sixth.
Alonso has 33 homers and 86 RBIs. Outside of the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, he has never finished with fewer than 37 homers or 94 RBIs in a season.
“He’s that type of player, he’s that type of hitter where he can carry a team, he can do damage,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s got the ability to get RBIs. Today was a good game for him.”
The defeat continued a frustrating series for the Nationals (68-83), who will finish with a losing record for the fifth straight season since winning the 2019 World Series. Washington lost its 1-0 lead in the eighth inning of Monday’s 2-1, 10-inning loss.
Rookie James Wood gave the Nationals a short-lived lead by beating out the back end of a potential double play ball in the fourth inning Tuesday, allowing a run to score for a 1-0 lead, but the first five Mets batters reached during a four-run bottom of the frame.
“Obviously, that’s not how we envisioned this game going,” Wood said. “But we’ve just got to be able to learn from it and take it into (Wednesday) and be better.”
Quintana earned the win in his most recent start last Friday, when he tossed seven scoreless innings as the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-3. He is 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in seven career starts against the Nationals, including a 1-0 record over 14 scoreless innings in two starts this season.
Herz also earned the win last Friday after giving up one run over five innings in the Nationals’ 4-1 victory over the Miami Marlins. The rookie, who made his big league debut against the Mets on June 4, is 0-1 with a 4.66 ERA in two starts against New York.
–Field Level Media