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The Mets have played nearly 10,000 regular-season games in their history, which began back in 1962, and they had never scored 10 or more runs in three consecutive games before. Until now.
“Sick!” exclaimed Pete Alonso when he was told of the accomplishment, which the Mets iced Thursday night when they beat the Phillies, 10-6, in the opener of a pretty important four-game series, the last of the regular season at Citi Field. The victory came after New York pummeled the Nationals on consecutive nights with 10 spots earlier this week.
“Right on, yeah!” Alonso added. “That’s great. Guys one through nine are doing a great job of staying locked in… It’s a whole group effort and we’ve definitely – definitely – got some good momentum going. Hopefully, we can continue (Friday).”
Such are the vibes these days around the 85-68 Mets, who are enjoying a delightful stretch where slumping hitters are beginning to bloom, fueling a powerful, deep lineup.
Their pitching is (mostly) roaring and the pitchers are even developing their own dugout celebrations – hey, they deserve it, especially with the starters delivering at least six innings in 15-of-17 September games. Luis Severino, Thursday’s winner, joked that the pitchers might need to get their own sign.
These Mets seem to be playing with as much energy as they have all season. That’s what it looks like when you hold a playoff spot – they are two games ahead of the Braves and tied with Arizona for the second NL Wild Card – and have won four games in a row and 16-of-20.
How to manage all this sizzle, amidst a playoff chase? “Sleep, recover, get some good food and then wash, rinse, repeat and then we’re on to the next one at 7:10 (p.m.) or whatever game time is,” Alonso said.
The Mets had a crowd of 35,982 at Citi Field Thursday, one night after Brandon Nimmo implored fans to come out to the yard. Who knows how many of them took up Nimmo on his plea, but there was plenty of electricity in the ballpark and several Mets, including manager Carlos Mendoza, talked enthusiastically about it after the win.
“When Citi’s a vibe and a fun place to play, like, we totally feed off that in a really good way,” Alonso said. “We only have three games left here (during the regular season). I’m doubling down – come on, guys, come on out. Help create that environment that we love to play in.”
Thursday, Mark Vientos and Alonso hit back-to-back homers in the first inning, fueling the fans. Later, Nimmo and Francisco Alvarez homered, too. All four had this in common recently – the outside world, at least, was wondering when they’d get their swings together. Apparently, they have.
Luisangel Acuña – again – delivered a jolt when the Phillies tried to creep back into the game, lashing an RBI triple for extra cushion at 10-6. There were hustle plays to prolong innings, too, which Mendoza called “part of playing winning baseball.”
The Mets are 4-0 without Francisco Lindor in the lineup, though no one is suggesting his absence is good for the Mets. It’s more like they are clicking enough to withstand it while his back improves. You can pick multiple at-bats from each of the last three nights for proof.
“We know we’re good, and we said it, guys are going to go down, and guys will continue to step up,” Mendoza said. “And that’s what we’ve seen the past few days. And it feels like it’s a different guy every night. When you’ve got guys like Nimmo going, Alonso going, Vientos, Alvy. That’s a deep lineup.”
“It’s an extremely long lineup right now,” Nimmo added.
Of course, even if the Mets made scoring look easy and fun on Thursday, they still have to get through nine more games and keep their playoff position. That won’t be easy. The Phillies are here for three more games and then the Mets hit the road for a series in Atlanta, a troublesome locale in the Mets’ past, and one in Milwaukee, home of the NL Central division champs.
At the very least, the Mets thrived in their first spin on this treacherous stretch, beating the Phillies in the opener, adding some franchise lore in the process, something they hadn’t done in 9,954 previous games.
“It’s pretty amazing that the Mets have played over 10,000 games and we’re the first ones to do this, score 10 runs-plus in three games in a row,” Nimmo said, boosting the game total a smidge.
“That’s pretty special.”