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Pete Alonso has 40 and 41 HR on the season
Pete Alonso goes to the bullpen twice to hit his 40th and 41st home runs of the season in a Mets win over the Mariners.
New York — Pete Alonso put himself in strong company on Sunday.
The two-time All-Star homered and drove in four runs, hitting 40 homers and 100 RBI for the second straight season as the New York Mets beat the first-place Seattle Mariners 6-3.
Alonso hit an RBI single in the first inning before his third-inning shot made him the fifth player in major league history with at least three 40-homer seasons in his first five campaigns, joining Hall of Famers Ralph Keener (four times), Eddie Matthews, and Ryan Howard, and Albert Pujols.
“Kind of mind-boggling,” Alonso said. “Impressive names. I had no idea.”
Jeff McNeil also went deep — after completing a homer shy of Saturday night — and New York took two out of three outs from the Mariners to give them their first series loss since August 11-13 against the Baltimore Orioles.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.
Seattle, which won 21 games in August, began the day leading the American League West by one game over the Houston Astros.
“We just had a historic month for the organization, and we probably had a little setback here,” said M’s first baseman Mike Ford, who struck out the second of back-to-back homers in the fourth. “But we can get right back to it.”
Alonso’s solo homer in the seventh made him just the fourth player in Mets history with at least three 100 RBI seasons. David Wright reached the 100-RBI mark five times, and Carlos Beltran and Darrell Strawberry each did it three times.
“For better or worse, we know one thing: Pete is going to walk through that door the same guy every day,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “He’s a joy to be around. He never has a bad day. He cares about his teammates, he cares about the Mets. And to see guys like him have success, it makes it even more fun.”
Alonso’s 41 home runs are tied for second most in a single season in franchise history with Beltran and Todd Hundley. Alonso holds the team record with 53 as a rookie in 2019.
“It seems like yesterday I was in my first season,” Alonso said. “This is my fifth year, and time flies. This means a lot. This place was very special to me. New York has treated me incredibly well.”
Alonso could become a free agent after the 2024 season, and speculation has been raging about whether the retooled Mets will trade him this winter after getting rid of veteran stars Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander over the summer to retool the farm system.
“Everyone knows this is part of the game until the contract is out,” New York shortstop Francisco Lindor said.