Mets star Pete Alonso’s home run surge has him in ‘a really good spot’ after slump – The Denver Post

Most of July had been a grind for Mets star Pete Alonso.

The slugger endured a 13-game drought without a home run and, after July 19 ended with a third consecutive hitless performance, his season average dipped to .203.

The All-Star first baseman has been scorching ever since. Friday night’s win over the Nationals marked Alonso’s second two-home run game in four days, following up the two blasts he hit against the Yankees on Tuesday to end the homer-less streak.

Alonso is batting .400 since July 20 and has at least one hit in all but one of the eight games during that stretch.

“I feel like I’m in a really good spot, and I just want to fight like hell to keep staying where I’m at,” Alonso said after Friday’s game.

Alonso led all MLB batters with 22 home runs when he was struck on the left wrist by a fastball from the Braves’ Charlie Morton on July 7. Alonso left that game and missed eight more with a bone bruise and sprain but returned from the injured list faster than the anticipated three-to-four-week timeline.

The 28-year-old would only connect on four home runs over his next 30 games, however, and ended up hitting .152 in June.

“You go through periods, first of all, that they’re just making pitches on you,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said Friday. “Then you get frustrated and you start going out of the zone. The answer usually is being more selective, but you don’t hit a home run if you don’t swing the bat.”

Alonso boosted his season average to .220 with his two-hit game Friday and drove in all five of the Mets’ runs in their 5-1 victory.

“I’ve had a lot of conversations with Pete in my office, late after everybody’s left,” Showalter said. “When you get it going again, somebody’s going to pay. You always feel that with Pete.”

Alonso’s 30 home runs are the third-most in Major League Baseball this season. The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani leads all hitters with 39, while the Braves’ Matt Olson leads the National League with 33. Alonso’s 73 RBI are tied for the eighth most in baseball.

The Mets have disappointed this season, entering Saturday night’s game against Washington with a 49-54 record despite the largest payroll in MLB history. On Thursday, they traded closer David Robertson to the Marlins for a pair of teenage prospects.

Still, Alonso says the Mets will have “a hell of a chance at the end of the year” if the players do their jobs.

“It’s really enjoyable to help the team win and do my job and play a part and help this team win,” Alonso said. “It’s great, but also every single day, it’s a new challenge. It’s a new adversity.”

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