Mets’ never-say-die attitude comes back again at perfect time
MILWAUKEE — Pete Alonso rescued his team, his season and maybe his future as a New York Met with one dramatic, gigantic swing of the bat.
Somebody had to do it. You knew somebody would do it. That’s the way this group is.
This 2024 Mets squad is Team Resilient. Experts were having trouble picking a winner in this winner-take-all game between the Mets and Brewers because one team is more resilient than the next.
Turns out the Mets win that title.
All they needed was a hero, and that it was Alonso, a great slugger and lifetime Met (so far) who’s looked for weeks like a glove-first singles hitter, made it even better — the win and the story.
Their come-from-behind 4-2 victory won on Alonso’s three-run, ninth-inning homer is one for the ages. As they say, ya’ gotta’ believe. But exactly who believed this time, down multiple runs, having done zip for eight straight innings and facing maybe the league’s best closer?
“I couldn’t believe it … I’m in shock and awe,” Brandon Nimmo said, honestly.
This one was indeed a surprise, even by their standards. But the truth is, nothing keeps this team down.
The 0-5 start was merely a blip. The 22-33 record into late May just a minor speed bump.
The deficits in game No. 161 at Atlanta that they had to win were easily overcome. The ones in Game 1 and 3 here were, too.
This was the most fitting way for this Mets team to exchange cheese land for cheese steaks, to make it to the Division Series.
“This is the story of our season — getting knocked down and finding a way to get back up,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
They were down to their final two outs in the ninth inning, they were down 2-0, and they were facing the great Devin Williams. Perfect for them, better for the story.
It had to be Pete, too.
“I’m really happy that I capitalized,” Alonso said. “It’d been such a great ride all year. I’m just happy I could come through for the team right there. It’s a really special moment.”
Mendoza said when he noticed Alonso was up fourth in the ninth, he was thinking the best. He was thinking Alonso would turn things around, for him and the team.
“I thought, ‘OK this is going to be the story,’ ” Mendoza said.
The big fellow, their biggest free agent, was looking like a shell of himself lately. It was like he was someone else, a generally nifty defender and bizarrely light hitter. He hadn’t hit a big home run since the first week of the season, as Joel Sherman pointed out. His five greatest win-probability-added hits all came in the first half.
Not anymore. Not when he clocked Williams’ 3-and-1 pitch to right field and watch it sail over the wall. Not by much, but enough. Pete is a hero by inches, this team a champion by just as much as it needs to be.
When all seems lost, they stage their comeback.
When we are ready to give up on them, they draw us back in.
That’s the theme of this season. When they look dead, they launch their comeback.
A scout could be heard to say, “Honestly I thought the Mets were dead. I was wrong.”
They aren’t the best team in this derby, which is down to eight now, but they just may be the toughest. And their story is the most improbable. They are turning doubters into believers.
They did next to nothing for eight innings here against Tobias Myers and the best bullpen this side of San Diego. Then the Brewers called upon their great closer up 2-0, and the Mets quickly flipped the script.
The great Francisco Lindor, a worthy MVP candidate, walked to start one of the greatest rallies in Mets history. Lindor is putting together a fabulous campaign and his clutch gene is off the charts.
“[Lindor’s] involved in everything, offensively, defensively,” David Peterson said. “The guy doesn’t stop.”
The team doesn’t quit.
After Mark Vientos struck out, Nimmo scorched a hard single past second base to set things up for Alonso, who ran the count to 3-and-1 before taking the swing of his life.
“That’s what big Pete does,” Lindor said.
Pete previously did nothing memorable in this series beyond tripping on his own bat and losing an RBI while hitting into a double play in the Game 2 loss. And really, he had done nothing noteworthy for months, except continue his perfect attendance record. But hey, no one’s giving out gold stars for that around here.
He needed to do something big, and when you least expect it, that’s exactly what he did. The fellow who’s hit the most home runs since he came into their league, unloaded, turning a near-certain defeat into one of the biggest victories in Mets history.
Mets fans behind their dugout stayed to celebrate. They chanted “M-V-P” for Lindor. Then they bellowed, “Pete A-Lon-So.” They waved OMG signs. This really was the OMG moment for a team that’s had some really good ones.
