MLB.com reports:
Pete Alonso
ambled toward the lip of the Mets’ dugout, where a microphone awaited
him. Alonso had just nestled the final out of the Mets’ 5-4 win over the
Marlins in his glove, securing a doubleheader sweep and ensuring that
New York, for the first time since May 2, would end the night above
.500. He was asked about the Citi Field crowd, which had buzzed all
evening.
Before he answered, Alonso looked up, gazed around him and raised his fist into the air, triumphant.
The Mets, now 57-56 and 2 1/2 games back in the National League Wild Card
race despite falling a season-high 11 games under .500 barely three
weeks ago, suddenly have a chance to make something out of a season once
feared lost. Many unaffiliated with the team have been slow to trust,
calling this 17-5 run a product of a soft schedule, an unsustainable
mirage. And perhaps it is.
The Mets just know they weren’t going to achieve anything without reaching .500 first.
“Getting to this point has been really tough,” Alonso said. “But now, anything can happen.”
Consider the types of things that happened in the seventh inning of
Game 2, for example. Trailing by two runs, the Mets received a jolt when
J.D. Davis, who has filled in admirably for injured left fielder
Dominic Smith, homered to cut Miami’s margin in half. An announced crowd
of 29,645 stirred.
Three batters later, Michael Conforto
clobbered a game-tying home run 440 feet to right field, sending it
flying toward the upper rows of Citi Field’s second seating deck. Next
came Alonso, who lined a more modest, but equally impactful, homer over
the fence in left.
Upon returning to the dugout, Alonso heard enough
fans chanting his name that he reemerged for a brief curtain call. “People are still showing rabid support, and I
love that,” Alonso said. “That’s one of the best things about the big
leagues, is playing in front of the thousands of people in the seats
every night. We want to put on a big show, and we want to win for them.
We want to do something special.”
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