If this was the Pete Alonso breakout game, it came at a great time for the Mets.
Alonso tied his season high with five RBI during a 10-1 Mets win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night in New York. His first hit of the night came on a tiebreaking, two-RBI Texas leaguer that gave the Mets a 3-1 lead in the third inning, and his third hit a three-run home run that gave the Mets a 9-1 lead in the sixth.
Alonso finished 3-for-5 and raised his OPS to .805 on the season, one that’s been challenging for the franchise first baseman in a contract year.
The Polar Bear has put up his power numbers—now at 33 home runs and 86 RBI—but has struggled all season with men on base (.210 average before Tuesday) and has recorded just five extra-base hits in September. And with the Mets combining for just two runs in the past two games in the middle of a hot playoff chase, having their biggest power threat mashing like his past self could certainly propel the Mets to October baseball.
But before and after Alonso showed out, all eyes were on rookie Luisangel Acuña—and not exactly for the best reasons early on.
Starter Tylor Megill walked Nationals center fielder Jacob Young to begin the third inning, and shortstop CJ Abrams reached via an error when Acuña dropped the throw of a potential force out at second base, allowing Young to reach third. Young scored on a groundout from left fielder James Wood, giving the Nats an early 1-0 lead.
Acuña soon made up for his error, however, with an RBI double in the bottom of the inning that scored Harrison Bader from first, tying the score at 1-1. It was Acuña’s first-career RBI and extra-base hit—though it wasn’t his last on the night, as he gave the Mets their 10th run of the game with a solo home run in the eighth inning.
The rookie finished the game 3-for-4 with his first MLB home run and two RBI.
Acuña (along with Jose Iglesias) scored in the third on Alonso’s soft single to shallow right field. Starling Marte then scored on a sacrifice fly from Mark Vientos, and Francisco Alvarez made it 5-1 an inning later on a no-doubter solo home run to left field.
Two doubles from Alonso and Tyrone Taylor gave the Mets a 6-1 lead in the fifth. Taylor finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base, while Iglesias added another three hits—his fourth multi-hit game in his last five.
Iglesias is also riding an 11-game hit streak, his longest since 2021 and tied for the third-longest of the season for the Mets (the first two spots owned by Francisco Lindor).
After a shaky start to the game, Megill (4-5) settled down and finished six innings with one run allowed (zero earned), two walks and four strikeouts. A bullpen relay of Adam Ottavino, Huascar Brazobán and Alex Young finished the game off for the Mets without allowing a run.
The Mets (83-68) extended their NL Wild Card lead to two games with the Atlanta Braves’ 6-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday. The Mets will aim for the sweep of the Nationals on Wednesday, with lefty starter Jose Quintana looking for his 10th win of the season.
Big Mets winner: Acuña (+15% WPA) and Alonso (+13% WPA)
Big Mets loser: J.D. Martinez (-5% WPA)
Mets pitchers: +12% WPA
Mets hitters: +38% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Acuña double (+15.2% WPA)
Teh sux0rest play: Acuña error (-10.4% WPA)
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