Alonso, Pitching Highlight First Third of 2025 Season

The debut of Juan Soto. The return of Kodai Senga. A month of Pete Alonso going nuclear.

It was an eventful first third of the season for the Mets that concluded Monday with their fifth walk-off win, on a Francisco Lindor sacrifice fly to beat the White Sox, 2-1. It was fitting that it was a win at home, where the Mets are 20-6, that the pitching was superb and that the Mets went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. (The one hit didn’t net a run.)

It should be a fun summer in Queens. The Mets are 1.5 games back of the Phillies for first place in the N.L. East and among five teams, with the Phillies on top, separated by 3.5 games for the best record in the National League. They’re on pace for 99 wins.

The Mets have the best home record in baseball and more of the faithful have shown up to Citi Field this year. Average attendance is 37,428, fifth in baseball, up from 29,484 and 17th a year ago.

Many have come out to the park to see Soto, the game’s highest paid player, who is off to a below-expectations start with slash lines (.233/.361/.409) that would all be career lows and an ugly .130 batting average (6-for-46) with runners in scoring position.

The failings with RISP has been a team-wide problem. The Mets are hitting .213 with RISP (26th in MLB) despite hitting .245 overall (17th).

But one Met who has been an exception is Alonso, who is 16-for-50 (.320) with four homers and a 1.076 OPS with RISP. He went on a tear, won the March/April N.L. Player of the Month award and is 17 home runs away from breaking Darryl Strawberry‘s franchise home run record. It’s an attainable mark with two-thirds of the season left.

Lindor (.272/.347/.455, 10 homers, 10 steals) had a productive first third of the season, too. Manager Carlos Mendoza was asked after the Monday walk-off what makes Lindor so good in those situations.

“The confidence,” he told reporters. “He knows he’s good. His ability to slow the game down. The moment is never too big for him. He’s aggressive with good pitches to hit. He’s got conviction when he’s making those decisions. That’s what great players do. Over, over and over he keeps doing it. We got a few of them like that, too. You feel really good about your chances when they’re at the plate with the game on the line.”

Meanwhile, the pitching has been electric.

New York leads MLB in ERA (2.78). The starters’ ERA is 2.84, led by Senga, who has been better than anyone could have hoped for after losing virtually his entire 2024 to injury. Senga is 5-3 with a NL-leading 1.46 ERA. In half of his 10 starts, he didn’t give up an earned run.

The rest of the staff has been on point as well. David Peterson (2.79) and Tylor Megill (3.56) are toting career-best ERAs. Clay Holmes (2.98 ERA) has made a seamless transition to starter and Angels fans must be wondering what got into Griffin Canning. The 29-year-old pitched to a 5.19 ERA and led the American League in earned runs allowed last season. In five years in Anaheim, he was 25-34 with a 4.78 ERA. In 10 starts for the Mets, he’s 5-1 with a 2.88 ERA.

The relievers’ ERA is 2.77, ranked third in MLB. Edwin Díaz is 11-for-11 saving games, with a 2.42 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. He may never approach his absurd 2022 pre-injury numbers again, but he has been worthy of the trumpets. Reed Garrett (0.82 ERA) and Huascar Brazobán (1.11 ERA) have been unreal.

What will the last two-thirds of the season bring? Hopefully, the effective returns of Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas and Paul Blackburn, a return-to-form for Soto and a home run record for Alonso. Oh, and an NL East crown for the first time in a decade.