3 Up, 3 Down: Alonso Heroics Powers Mets to Series Win In Miami

Pete Alonso certainly saved the New York Mets’ bacon in Miami.

The slugger was the spark the offense needed against the Marlins. He came up with big hit after big hit to help his team secure a first series win of 2025.

There were some other positives to emerge from the second series of the year. However, we also saw some worrying trends continue.

To that end, let’s dive into another edition of 3 Up, 3 Down…

3 UP

POLAR BEAR HEROICS

If it weren’t for Pete Alonso, the Mets would be waking up today having dropped the first two series of the year. It is that simple. Alonso was the driving force behind the team winning two out of three in Miami. The slugger crushed a grand slam in the opening game on Monday. Then, in the rubber game on Wednesday, Alonso really elevated his game. He hit an RBI double in the first inning to get the Mets on the board. With two runners on and two outs in the eighth, with the Marlins holding a 4-1 lead, Alonso stepped to the plate and, after a nine-pitch at-bat, blasted a three-run bomb to dead center. It was vintage Alonso.

Furthermore, the four-time All-Star posted exit velocities of 114.5, 113.4, 113.1 and 107.1 on Wednesday. He finished the game with a homer, two doubles, a walk, four RBIs and two runs scored. Alonso looks locked in already, and that can only be a good thing for the Mets.

STELLAR DEFENSE

President of baseball operations David Stearns hasn’t been at the helm for long, but Luis Torrens might be his best pickup to date. The catcher is carrying the load with Francisco Alvarez out, and he played a crucial role in securing the win in Game 3. Entering the game as a pinch-hitter, Torrens stayed in and proceeded to make two huge plays behind the plate late in the game. He managed to catch an off-line throw from Brett Baty and still tag out the runner at home in an incredibly impressive show of flexibility. Later in the same eighth inning, Torrens threw a dart from his knees to second to help escape the inning with the game still tied.

Torrens also homered and finished with two RBIs in the first game of the series. He’s hitting .313/.353/.625/.978. Base stealers are 1-for-4 against him. It is early but, so far, Torrens is proving that he can do it all on both sides of the ball with Alvarez out.

CARRYING THE LOAD

How good has the pitching been for the Mets so far in 2025? Thank god because the offense has struggled, putting more pressure on the pitching to deliver. Through the first six games, the starting rotation has an ERA of 2.90, while the bullpen owns a 1.64 ERA. And both the starting and relief pitching was money for the most part in Miami. David Peterson was solid. Kodai Senga showed flashes with eight strikeouts. Max Kranick delivered three shutdown innings out of the pen in the second game of the series. José Buttó tossed two innings of scoreless relief on Wednesday, including stranding the ghost runner in the 10th inning. Huascar Brazobán then came in and tided up some mess to secure the win and his first career save.

It remains to be seen how sustainable this current pitching success is. But, with the offense largely coming up short, both the starting and relief pitching has helped to keep the Mets at .500 through the first six games of the season.

3 DOWN

COSTLY ERRORS

The Mets’ defense looks a little Little League right now. Errors by Tyrone Taylor and Mark Vientos on routine plays led to their team being down 2-1 on Wednesday. A.J. Minter would later move a runner over to third on a balk. And another Vientos mistake eventually led to more runs being scored. That came after Francisco Lindor committed two errors on Tuesday, including one that ultimately cost his team the game. Perhaps more concerning is the fact that this team are making even the simple plays look complicated. Granted, the season is still incredibly young and it is foolish to overreact to anything at this stage. With that said, the Mets have a lot of cleaning up to do when it comes to their defensive play.

SLUGGISH START

The Mets broke out offensively in the opening game of the series, but that proved to be more the exception than the rule. This offense is still really struggling to get going. Entering Wednesday, the lineup was hitting a collective .179 through five games. It was also hitting just .125 (4-for-32) with runners in scoring position. And, despite putting up six runs on the board in the rubber game, the Mets still went 3-for-16 with RISP, leaving seven runners stranded on base. If it weren’t for Alonso, those missed opportunities would have proved costly. Again, it is still early, but this offense needs to wake up and start coming through in the clutch.

TIME TO PANIC?

Speaking of waking up, now would be a good time for Mark Vientos to come out of his early-season slump. The third baseman has not been good in really any aspect to begin 2025. And all of his ugly warts were on display in Miami. He cost his team a baserunner by showing a lack of hustle on Tuesday. In a one-run game, that lack of effort is inexcusable. Vientos followed that up with an 0-for-5 night on Wednesday, striking out twice. He also committed an error on a throw that led to a run being scored. Vientos has begun the year hitting just .083/.154/.167 with no home runs and just one RBI. That’s troubling to say the least. Luckily, it is still early and Vientos certainly has the talent and the ability to get the train back on the tracks pretty quickly.