The addition of J.D. Martinez to the Mets’ lineup is expected to have an impact on the entire lineup, but there will be particular interest in what it means for Pete Alonso, who has Martinez’s big bat right behind him in the batting order. are gathering.
That may have started to pay off on Saturday, when Alonso hit his 200th career home run in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Cardinals at Citi Field.
Alonso became the fourth Mets player to reach this milestone, joining Darryl Strawberry, David Wright and Mike Piazza.
Elias said he is the fourth fastest player in MLB history to reach the mark, behind Ryan Howard (658 games), Aaron Judge (671 games) and Ralph Kiner (706 games).
“I’m always excited for the next game,” Alonso said before the match. “It feels daunting and daunting considering the pace, but I just want to win, play the best I can and help win as many games as I can.”
He hopes Martinez can help, but he’s not worried about how opposing pitchers will change their approach to him by having Martinez in the deck circle.
“The most important thing for me is not to focus on it and fall into that trap because nothing is guaranteed,” Alonso said. “My goal is always to capitalize on mistakes. When they make mistakes in the zone, I want to hit hard between the lines.”
So, in theory, Alonso could make more mistakes and get hit by pitches more because pitchers are wary of facing Martinez with another runner on base. would be high.
“I don’t know if it’s going to happen,” said Alonso, who was hitless for four at bats in Friday’s first game with Martinez behind him. “Let’s see. Hopefully.”
In any case, Alonso said he would not focus on that.
“My plan is to always focus on working on what’s in front of me, no matter what’s going on around me,” Alonso said. “If I’m not getting a lot of hits, it’s my job to get a walk and get a good at-bat. And if they throw to a good part of the plate and hit hard between the lines, it’s my job to get a good swing. please.”
Martinez did just that in his first game against the Mets on Friday after being inactive earlier this month with a back strain and playing just three rehab games.
Martinez is looking to spark an offense that has several players in mini-slumps, including Bret Beatty, Brandon Nimmo, Harrison Bader and DJ Stewart.
Currently, Alonso and Martinez are in the middle of the batting lineup, and Alonso was amazed by Martinez, who was doing very well at the plate despite lacking playing time before his debut.
“It’s funny, I remember his first day of camp, he was playing against some pretty good arms and prospects and he was hitting triples or quadruples,” Alonso said. “The guy just rake. JD just rake. He’s proven throughout his entire career that it’s an incredibly difficult skill to hone over the years, and he’s done it. He’s one of the best players.”
