Pete Alonso’s long blast in 10th leads Mets to thrilling comeback win
The rookies gave the Mets a chance, and their leader took them home.
Mark Vientos — making his season debut — drilled a game-tying home run in the seventh. Francisco Alvarez crushed a three-run, game-tying home run in the ninth.
And in the 10th, with the Mets down two, it was Pete Alonso’s turn.
Alonso crushed his fourth-career walk-off home run in a wild, 10-inning, 8-7 win over the Rays at Citi Field on Wednesday night in a game that felt as if it included 2022 magic.
“Three homers to end it,” Kodai Senga, who was excellent through six, one-run innings, said through a translator, “is something from a movie.”
The previously light-hitting Mets, who called up Alvarez because of injuries and Vientos because they could no longer ignore his bat, used three homers to erase deficits against baseball’s best team.
They entered the 10th inning tied, but David Robertson allowed two runs in the extra frame. The Mets responded against Rays closer Pete Fairbanks.
Jeff McNeil singled ahead of Alonso, who has been “sick as a dog,” Buck Showalter said.
The Mets’ first baseman insisted on playing anyway and got a four-seamer from Fairbanks that he liked. He drilled it to left to conclude a tremendous comeback and set off a celebration.
The Mets (21-23) will go for a series victory against MLB’s best team Thursday afternoon after a disappointing split with the NL East’s worst team (the Nationals) last weekend.
“This is an unbelievable team win for us,” said a stuffed-up Alonso, who said he felt like “crap” and conducted his interviews from a distance. “To be able to come back like we did against a really high-quality team … it’s a real confidence boost for sure.”
The confidence will help, but so will the kids. The Mets wanted pop. They needed energy. More than anything they needed runs, and that’s what Vientos, called up earlier in the day, and rookie catcher Alvarez provided.
The Mets were down two entering the seventh, when Mark Canha got hit by his third pitch of the season. Showalter kept the righty-hitting Vientos in the game against righty Ryan Thompson with lefty Brett Baty available on his bench.
Vientos rewarded his manager’s faith by turning on an 0-1 slider and crushing it to center field, just out of the reach of Jose Siri’s glove, to tie the game.
“All the hard work that I’ve been putting in is showing,” said Vientos, whose red-hot bat earned a promotion and now likely has earned more playing time.
The Mets needed a moment from Alvarez, too, because their bullpen allowed six runs in four innings. The Rays scored two against Adam Ottavino in the eighth and one against Stephen Nogosek in the ninth, which set up Alvarez for his moment.
Down by three, Daniel Vogelbach walked and Starling Marte was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Alvarez got a down-the-middle sweeper from Jason Adam and crushed a no-doubter, demolishing it 426 feet to left, and watched it go. Alvarez took a few moments, flung his bat high in the air and began a slow trot in front of 29,695 stunned fans.
“It made me remember a lot of those moments where I didn’t have success,” said Alvarez, who has begun finding his rhythm at the plate. “I said he’s going to throw me a slider. If it’s a strike, I’m going to swing at it.”
The Mets did not waste brilliance from Senga, who was electric, dominant and occasionally wild for six innings, which tied a career high. Against the best offense in baseball, Senga also reached major league career-highs in strikeouts (12) and pitches (104), navigating around traffic on the bases by striking out everyone in sight.
And they did not waste a rare offensive explosion from an attack that has been struggling. The very fact that Vientos is on the club — and the very fact that Alonso is playing despite feeling terribly — underscores how badly the Mets have needed a night like this.
“For the players, I know how painful this stretch has been for them,” Showalter said. “To have a moment like that, they deserve it.”
