New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso added numbers to his milestones by recording a total of 30 home runs and 100 RBIs when playing against the Philadelphia Phillies.
On that Friday night, Alonso contributed his runs for the Mets’ 7-2 win at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. It was on Top 3 when Alonso hit the ball that led to his 30th homer, while Starling Marte run back home from third base.
Alonso watched the ball fly over to the left field for 353 feet away and made the Mets lead the game 3-0 against the Phillies.
“It’s great,” Alonso said of his major achievement. “But also, I’m just trying to do the best I can to help this team win.”
Before the match, the Mets were coming off their first MLB series loss of the season, with 3-1 score against Atlanta Braves.
Last weekend, in the last rumble against Phillies, the Mets secured a 2-1 win, with Alonso facing Phillies right-hander pitcher Aaron Nola on the plate.
Nola was beaten by Alonso when caught “bad luck” in this match by allowing a run scored when Phillies’ third baseman Alec Bohm’s throwing error on Alonso’s fielder’s choice. Then, Brandon Nimmo, who was on third base ran back home and led to Alonso’s 100th RBI.
The play in the first inning was enlivened by loud shouts of “Let’s go Mets!” from many Mets supporters that watch the Mets’ road game among the Phillies’ crowd in the stadium which reported was watched by 43,176 people at that time.
“I don’t know what it is,” interim Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Some teams just have other teams’ numbers.”
Alonso’s statement
Alonso was named the fifth player in the Mets’ history with multiple 30-home run seasons. Previously, the Mets listed several long ball hitters, namely Mike Piazza, Howard Johnson, Darryl Strawberry, and Dave Kingman.
“I’m really happy and satisfied with my consistency this year,” Alonso said.
With that 30th homer, Alonso recorded 102 RBIs in total and joined David Wright as the only Mets with 100-RBI accolade in multiple seasons recorded in their first four years in MLB.
“You look up there and see 100 next to his name in the middle of August, it’s impressive,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said.
Dan Gelston of The Associated Press asserted that Alonso would likely record 40 homers if he consistently played at this level. According to Gelston said that if Alonso would face Nola again, he could add numbers to his home runs record.
Statistically, Alonso has recorded five career home runs against the 29-year-old pitcher, and no other players tallied more than three home runs against Nola.
Gelston said that Alonso could record the same numbers as Phillies’ slugger Kyle Schwarber for the NL lead. Currently, Schwarber has tallied a total of 34 home runs.
In the fifth inning, Starling Marte’s run made it 5-0 for the Mets, which was followed by third baseman Brett Baty’s double steal to add a two-run single in the seventh. Eventually, the Mets were able to secure 7-2 victory over the Phillies.