Thursday may have been Pete Alonso's second-to-last game at Citi Field as a Met.
He's hitting like he'll do it more this season, and he's doing it in a way that reminds us how valuable he can be.
In mid-September, with the Mets in the playoff hunt and MVP Francisco Lindor out of the lineup, the Mets slugger has come to life.
Alonso hit a first-inning homer to right-center field, his third in his last seven games, in a series-opening 10-6 win over the Phillies at Citi Field on Thursday.
Is this the hot streak the Mets have been waiting for?
At his best, Alonso has the ability to carry the entire team on his back.
Alonso was subpar for most of the first five months of the season, still hitting enough to make the All-Star team but having a comparatively poor season.
Through September 11, he had a .787 OPS which would be the worst season of his career.
But that OPS has risen to .807 over his last seven games, Alonso is 11-for-28 (.393) with three homers, a double and seven RBIs.
“I’m happy to be taking advantage of the pitches in the zone,” Alonso said after facing Mark Vientos in back-to-back games. “I just want to be able to continue to be dangerous and make quality contact and have good at-bats.”
A good sign of good at-bats, according to Alonso and his manager, is when his barrel launches pitches all over the yard.
Four pitches after Vientos went deep, Alonso saw an outside fastball from Taijuan Walker and took advantage, launching the towering shot over the right-center field wall.
“When he uses the whole field,” Carlos Mendoza said, “he is quite dangerous.”
Alonso, who finished 1-for-4 with a walk, pounded his fist between first and second base.
After crossing home plate, he yelled to the crowd, trying to get the few who were in their seats to stand up.
Much like Brandon Nimmo did the night before, Alonso asked Mets fans to show up for games that aren't exactly October, but feel like October.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Alonso said. “We have to finish.”
This series will conclude the regular season home games.
If they make the postseason as the fifth or sixth seed, they would play the first round on the road.
There is no guarantee that Alonso, a pending free agent, will again round the bases in Queens as a Met.
In what has been a season full of ups and downs for Alonso, he could be hitting his peak at the right time.
“We need him,” Mendoza said of Alonso, a statement that likely wasn’t true on a night when the Mets hit three more homers, but one that will surely be true as the playoff race heats up.
