NEW YORK — Mets slugger Pete Alonso was riding an 0-for-18 streak when he stepped up to the plate for his third at-bat against San Francisco Giants starter Robbie Ray.
In his previous two at-bats, he’d struck out swinging on a pair of elevated fastballs.
Though unproductive, this wasn’t the worst-case scenario for Alonso.
“I think for me, when I get out of my plan, I’m chasing off speed,” Alonso said after Friday’s 4-3 loss to the Giants. “And for me, I think I did a good job — I know I chased a couple heaters up, but I think for me, I’d rather that be my miss right now.”
Then, with the Mets trailing 3-0 in the seventh inning, Alonso felt confident in his previous at-bats against Ray. Seeing him a third time, he felt good about his chances of capitalizing against him.
After laying off two knuckle curves out of the strike zone, Alonso got another elevated fastball, this time right where he wanted it.
Alonso connected on the 92.7 mph heater, sending it 414 feet to right-center for a solo home run.
“I’m really happy I was able to lay off some of those tough breaking balls down and get a couple heaters, and capitalize in the zone,” Alonso said.
In his next at-bat, with runners on the corners, against former teammate, right-hander José Buttó, he hit another high fly ball to center field. This one didn’t leave the park, but was productive nonetheless.
It fell for a sacrifice fly, scoring shorstop Francisco Lindor from third base.
In the 10th inning, he worked a six-pitch walk against Giants hard thrower Randy Rodríguez.
“There were some good signs from Pete today,” Mendoza said. “The sac fly, the homer going the other way, the walk against Rodriguez … and then being able to lay off that breaking ball, 3-2, for the walk.
“But yeah, I think there’s, especially when he’s driving the ball that way, you know, the other way with authority. That’s a really good sign for Pete.”
In his final three at-bats, Alonso was more productive than he’d been in his previous six games combined. He had been 1-for-25 (.043) with a walk and an RBI during that span.
On Friday, he was 1-for-3, with a home run, a walk and two RBIs.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Manny Gómez may be reached at [email protected].
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.