Pete Alonso was hitless in 12 at-bats for Toronto, but his final at-bat of the series may have given him some encouragement.
In Wednesday's dramatic Mets-Blue Jays win, the first baseman was down 2-0 to right-hander Chad Green in a tied game, then caught two sliders to tie the game and then hit a sacrifice fly for the win.
The match saw Alonso demoted to fifth place for the 10th time this season.
He has spent the better part of a year at the cleaning site.
It was a win for Alonso, who only managed two extra-base hits in September and is having the worst season of his career heading into free agency.
Although the Mets have a tough remaining schedule (the toughest in the major leagues, according to Tankathon.com), Alonso could find some success.
On September 10, 2024, the Mets will lose to the Blue Jays. Getty Images
Though his overall performance has been somewhat mediocre, Alonso — who ended his 12-game shutout streak with a strikeout on Wednesday — has been hitting well against his toughest opponents.
He had four hits in 11 at-bats with one home run against Milwaukee, and his 1.053 OPS against Atlanta is his best against any team he has faced 10 times this year.
Against Friday's opponent, the Phillies, he has four extra-base hits in six games.
“He's up and down, but he's a threat,” Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday. “Every time he steps up to home plate, it feels really good, because if he makes a mistake, he can hit it far and change the outcome of the game.”
Edwin Diaz picked his best moment of the season: The closer is in the midst of an eight-game scoreless streak, his longest since returning from a suspension for drug use.
In 7 1/3 innings, Diaz allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out 14. Only four relief pitchers in major league baseball have struck out batters at a higher rate than Diaz.
Diaz is a key member of a relief corps that has pitched well for much of the second half of the season and has had some outstanding performances recently.
In addition to Diaz, who has bounced back from consecutive shaky matches over the last month, Reid Garrett has also been effective.
After two shaky performances since landing on the disabled list in mid-August, the right-hander has allowed just three hits, walked one and struck out 10 in his last nine starts, including nine consecutive scoreless innings.
The Mets announced that David Peterson will start Sunday at Philadelphia on regular rest.
That means Tyler Megill will be playing against the Nationals at Citi Field this week.
Megill will fill in for Paul Blackburn, who was expected to return from the IL but then backed out with a back injury.
