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Mets fend off pesky A’s thanks to Pete Alonso’s latest big night
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- Mets fend off pesky A’s thanks to Pete Alonso’s latest big night
Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz (inset)
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Mets ' strength as a lineup lies in a grind out approach that extends at-bats and forces opposing pitchers to work for outs.
Friday night was something of a master clinic by the Mets in that regard. With Pete Alonso as the ringleader, the A's threw 210 pitches. The Mets threw 156.
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"When we're clicking, when we're controlling the strike zone, we could be pretty dangerous and we saw it today," manager Carlos Mendoza said after the Mets' 7-6 victory at Sutter Health Park. "We are going to make pitchers work."
Alonso, who had an eight-pitch plate appearance earlier in the game in which he delivered an RBI double, homered on the seventh pitch of his at-bat against Jose Leclerc in the eighth.
"Ultimately I don't want it to get to that much," Alonso said of the extended at-bats. "I'd rather just hit it hard when I get the opportunity. I just want to keep making good swings on good pitches whenever they come over the plate and when they are not just take it and let it be a ball."
Alonso is leading the National League with a .378 batting average after 13 games and owns a whopping 1.260 OPS.
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Edwin Diaz survived a rocky ninth inning in which he allowed two runs on two walks and one hit for the save.
With the tying run on second base he retired Jacob Wilson to end it.
Griffin Canning pitched to hard contact and couldn't get through the sixth and was removed after allowing three runs in the inning.
Overall, the right-hander allowed four earned runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts over 5 ¹/₃ innings.
Pete Alonso celebrates with teammates after hitting a solo homer in the eighth inning of the Mets' 7-6 win over the A;s on April 12, 2025. AP
Brandon Nimmo homered leading off the second for the game's first run. The blast was Nimmo's third this season.
The Mets weren't finished in the inning. Luisangel Acuña doubled and Luis Torrens — back in the starting lineup after missing five straight starts with a forearm contusion — stroked an RBI double that extended the Mets' lead to 2-0.
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The A's pulled within 2-1 in the second on Miguel Andújar 's RBI single.
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Gio Urshela followed with a single, but Nimmo's leaping catch on Max Muncy 's line drive for the third out protected the Mets' lead. Shea Langeliers ' leadoff walk ignited the rally and JJ Bleday singled before Canning got Wilson to hit into a double play.
Edwin Diaz celebrates and untucks his jersey after picking up ahard-earned save in the Mets' win over the A's. Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images
Canning escaped trouble in the third, after Brent Rooker launched a triple off the center field fence.
The ensuing batter, Soderstrom, hit a grounder to first base against a drawn-in infield and Alonso's throw home easily nailed Rooker.
Juan Soto singled on the eighth pitch of his at-bat against JP Sears leading off the fifth before Alonso (also on the eighth pitch) smashed an RBI double that gave the Mets a 3-1 lead.
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The Mets built a cushion in the sixth on Starling Marte 's two-run double that extended the lead to 6-1.
Pete Alonso belts an RBI double in the fifth inning of the Mets' win over the A's. AP
Alonso's sacrifice fly brought in the inning's first run after the Mets had loaded the bases on two walks and an error. Marte punctuated the frame with a shot over the center fielder Bleday's head.
"I think the biggest moment of the game is Starling hitting that ball and getting those runs in," Alonso said.
Mendoza cited Jose Siri 's plate appearance in the inning in which he drew a walk as a key moment.
Brandon Nimmo rounds the bases after belting a homer in the second inning of the Mets' win over the A's. Getty Images
Siri scored from third on Alonso's fly to short right field — a play on which most players wouldn't have attempted to score.
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"I just think when a runner like me is on base [opponents] need to be more prepared," Siri said through an interpreter.
But the A's got to Canning in the bottom of the inning. Andújar delivered the blow that ended the right-hander's night with a two-run homer that sliced the Mets' lead to 6-4.
Shea Langeliers opened the inning with a double and after Bleday was retired on a line drive to right field, Wilson delivered an RBI single. Andujar's homer ensued.
Alonso homered with two outs in the eighth to stretch the Mets' lead to 7-4. The RBI was Alonso's third of the game and gave him 18 for the season.
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Diaz allowed two runs in the ninth and then survived a potential disaster.
"I didn't command my pitches to the lefties the way I wanted," Diaz said, after a second straight subpar appearance. "With the righties I was way better. … I am not really concerned. I got the job done."
