PHILADELPHIA — Pete Alonso was at his best when it mattered and upped his game when the moment called for it.
After the Mets lost three of four to the Braves this week, the divisional matchup against the surging Phillies that started Friday night was certainly important, and that’s how the first baseman responded.
Alonso surpassed the 100 RBI mark and smashed his 30th home run of the season to start the Mets with a 7-2 win at Citizens Bank Park.
The Mets recovered well after those four games in Atlanta, where they lost a series to an NL East opponent for the first time this year. With a 77-43 record, they stayed 3 1/2 games ahead of the Braves, who defeated the Astros on Friday.
Pete Alonso hits a two-run home run against the Phillies in the third inning Friday night in Philadelphia. Getty Images
“He wants to be everything to us every night,” manager Buck Showalter said of Alonso, who went 2-for-5 and finished the night tied with Aaron Judge with 102 RBIs at the top of the major leagues. “He’s proud of his defense, of his baserunning and of doing runs.
“No matter how he got here, if you look up and see the ‘100’ next to his name in mid-August, it’s impressive.”
Alonso came in scoring position with a runner three times and scored twice, delivering the bulk of the offense to back up a solid Chris Bassitt and an effective Mets bullpen.
In the first inning, Alonso got the job done with an assist from Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm. The Mets had runners on the corners with an out, and Alonso threw a ground ball over the line to Bohm, whose throw bounced to second base into right field.
The 100th RBI wasn’t the prettiest, but it still counted. By hitting the century mark in 119 games, Alonso is the fourth fastest under 100 RBIs in franchise history. Mike Piazza reached the mark in 103 games in 2000.
There was less luck in the third inning when Alonso with two outs and Starling Marte homed in third to take out Aaron Nola.
“It’s great, but I’m also trying to do my best to contribute to this win,” said Alonso, whose 1,125 OPS with runners in goal position after the game was seventh-best in baseball. “I’m really happy and satisfied with my consistency so far this year.”
After the Alonso show, the Mets got creative to extend their lead.
Pete Alonso celebrates his double home game with Starling Marte on Friday night in Philadelphia. Getty Images
They honored the Massapequa Coast team and later drew a little league game in the third inning. With runners in the corners, Francisco Lindor (3-for-5) started second. When Phillies catcher JT knocked Realmuto to the ground, Marte sprinted home from third place. A perfect throw might have caught him, but Bryson Stott’s relay back to Realmuto was on the first base side and Marte slipped in and stole home safely.
The Mets put down two runs in the seventh thanks to rookie Brett Baty and Showalter. After they loaded bases, Showalter oddly pinch-ranted with the slow Darin Ruf instead of the slightly slower Daniel Vogelbach at second base. The move looked brilliant as Baty came into right field with a two out single and the slithering call narrowly beat Nick Castellanos’ throw.
Alonso and Co.’s work made Bassitt’s outing stand up. Bassitt went six strong innings in which he conceded two runs and was gutted by 104 pitches. Bassitt has played back-to-back games against the Phillies and has been successful in each.
Chris Bassitt delivers a pitch against the Phillies in the first inning at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night. USA TODAY sports
“I’m trying to do the same thing that works, but I know they’re looking for what I was doing last, so it’s kind of a game of cat and mouse,” said Bassitt, who has done this four times against the Phillies has played a total season and 22 ²/₃ innings from four-run ball (1.59 ERA).
Bassitt extended his streak of not conceding a deserved run to 28 innings before Philadelphia finally capitalized on a chance in the fifth inning.
After Bassitt hit Matt Vierling with a pitch, Bradley Zimmer’s perfectly placed slow grounder on the third baseline went for a double. Notorious Mets killer Kyle Schwarber hit in two runs, but the Phillies’ scoring ended there.
Bassitt tagged to Adam Ottavino, who tagged to Joely Rodriguez, who threw a scoreless eighth before Trevor May threw a scoreless ninth.
With a doubleheader before Saturday, the Mets were lucky enough to stay away from Edwin Diaz.
They were also lucky to have Alonso.