Pete Alonso’s 40th and 41st home runs power Mets to series win over surging Mariners – The Denver Post

Pete Alonso mashed his way to major milestones Sunday afternoon, slugging his 40th and 41st home runs and recording his 100th RBI of the season to power the Mets to a series win over the surging Seattle Mariners.

The first baseman’s two-run shot in the third inning of the 6-3 victory at Citi Field clinched the third 40-homer season of his career. No other Met has ever posted more than one season with 40 home runs.

Alonso is the fifth player in MLB history with three 40-homer campaigns through five career seasons, joining Ralph Kiner, Eddie Mathews, Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard.

“I mean, holy s—,” Alonso said upon learning of that list. “That’s impressive names. I had no idea. That’s kind of mind-baffling.”

His first homer Sunday came against a hanging curveball from Mariners starter George Kirby, a native of Rye, N.Y., who made the All-Star team this season. Alonso added a solo home run off a Trent Thornton fastball in the seventh inning to account for his 100th RBI, marking the third time he’s reached that total.

He joined David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Darryl Strawberry as the only Mets with three 100-RBI seasons.

“I don’t really think that will set in until the dust settles in the offseason, but honestly, it’s kind of just happened so fast,” Alonso, 28, said. “It seems like yesterday I was in my rookie season, but this is my fifth year, and time flies. It means a lot. This place has been extremely special to me. New York’s treated me so incredibly well.”

Alonso finished the day 3-for-4 with four RBI, also delivering a first-inning single against Kirby that drove in Francisco Lindor, who was running on the pitch and scored from first base.

“Through thick and thin, we know one thing: Pete’s gonna walk through the door the same guy every day,” manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s a pleasure to be around. He never has a bad day. He cares about his teammates. He cares about the Mets. To see guys like him have success, he makes it even more enjoyable.”

The offensive outburst came amid swirling rumors about Alonso’s future with the Mets, who unloaded veterans including pitchers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer for prospects before last month’s trade deadline.

Alonso is set to become a free agent after the 2024 season, and while he could receive an extension before then, The Athletic recently reported the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs spoke to the Mets about the star slugger ahead of the trade deadline. Alonso responded to that Aug. 22 report by telling reporters, “I love being a Met.”

He now has 187 home runs in his career, good for fifth on the Mets’ all-time list. His only year with fewer than 37 home runs was 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the season to 60 games.

“He is a hitter that turned into a power hitter,” Lindor said of Alonso. “He is someone that does situational hitting well. … That’s what makes him good. He’s very consistent with his routine.”

Alonso’s fifth multi-homer game of the season Sunday came in support of Mets starter Tylor Megill, who rejoined the rotation in early August after the Verlander and Scherzer trades. Megill allowed three runs and struck out six over 5.1 innings to improve to 8-7 this year.

Taking the loss was Kirby (10-9), whom the Mets originally drafted in the 32nd round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of Rye High School in Westchester County. Kirby opted to attend Elon University instead of signing with the Mets and was selected in the first round by the Mariners in 2019.

Prized Mets prospect Ronny Mauricio went 1-for-4 Sunday, giving him five hits in three games after making his MLB debut Friday.

The Mets (63-74) took two of three against the red-hot Mariners (77-59), who entered the series finale alone in first place in the tightly contested American League West. New York opened the three-game set with a 2-1 win Friday before dropping Saturday’s game, 8-7.

Sunday concluded a 4-5 home stand for the Mets, who are set to begin a two-game series on the road Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals.

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