It took 59 games, but for the first time this season since joining forces, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso all went yard as the Metsbeat the Colorado Rockies, 5-3, on Sunday afternoon to complete the series sweep and cap off a 7-2 homestand.
New York is now 15 games above .500 at 37-22 which is the most games they’ve been above .500 this season. What’s most impressive about that is it did it, for the most part, without its big three all clicking at the same time.
But over the weekend against the Rockies who are on pace to be historically bad this season, the trio turned it on.
“That’s probably the first time if I’m not mistaken,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game about Lindor, Soto and Alonso all homering in the same game. “There’s three really good hitters at the top and it’s fun to see them going deep in the same game. That’s what we envisioned. When you got those three at the top, it’s pretty special. We saw it today and hopefully they’ll get going here.”
Alonso started the home run train with his three-run blast in the fourth inning that gave the Mets a 3-1 lead. The first baseman had a hit in all three games of the series and after a career-long power outage ended at the start of the homestand, he’s now hit three home runs in his last seven games to give him 12 on the season.
After Colorado tied the game against Clay Holmes in the next half-inning thanks to a wind-aided two-run homer, Lindor wasted no time to retake the lead with a long ball of his own. Like Alonso’s, the shortstop’s homer was a no-doubter and capped a memorable series and homestand for the 31-year-old.
Suddenly raging hot, Lindor went 6-for-11 against the Rockies, including two walks and three home runs. He now leads the team with 13 dingers and has his OPS back to .845 on the season.
“You try to go out there and play your best and when Francisco is going, obviously, at the top it makes everyone else’s job easier, whether he’s getting on base or driving the ball the way he’s doing it,” Mendoza said. “And you see it, every time he goes deep it’s usually with runners on base (or) to take the lead. He’s pretty clutch. Great player here and you gotta embrace it and enjoy it.”
Then there was Soto who did not have a hit until the eighth inning, although he was hit by a pitch and walked in his two prior at-bats. Still holding on to a one-run lead from Lindor’s home run back in the fifth after Colorado’s bullpen pitched well, Soto cracked a solo shot on a 3-2 pitch that had just enough legs to get out and give the Mets an insurance run for Edwin Diaz in the ninth.
The home run was Soto’s second in as many days after the right-fielder went back-to-back with Brandon Nimmo on Saturday which ended a homer-less streak of his own.
Not having played his best in his first season in Queens so far and owning a career-low .224 batting average before the weekend series, the 26-year-old finally perked up at the end of the homestand and is now 4-for-his-last-9 with two home runs and a double.
“Coming through for the team is always great so I’m really happy with that,” Soto said. “I’ve felt good since Day 1, the results just haven’t been there. So for me, finally I’m getting some balls landing, finding some holes and some gaps. We just gotta keep working on it.”
New York will now leave home where it is an MLB-best 24-7 this year to embark on a seven-game West Coast road trip, starting with four games against the Los Angeles Dodgers whom the Mets took two out of three at the beginning of their homestand.
The Mets have not had the same success on the road and are 13-15 away from Citi Field. They’ll look to turn those road misfortunes around starting on Monday night. Hopefully their big three are all still clicking when they arrive to Los Angeles.
“Obviously their talent jumps off the page and for us, we just need to stay in our area, stay locked in and really play our game,” Alonso said about the Dodgers. “That’s really it.”
“We gotta keep going, we got a long ways to go,” Mendoza added. “The mentality is one series at a time, one day at a time.”
Read the full article here