Maybe someone can pay off the schedule maker so the New York Mets (44-51) can play at Target Field more often. Since the Twins’ home opened in 2010, the Mets have never lost there now going 5-0 after a resounding 14-4 victory Wednesday over the Minnesota Twins (58-36). (box score)

The Mets benefited from some shoddy Twins’ defense and a clutch pinch-hit home run off the bat of Dominic Smith to lead the way. The highlight reel will no doubt center, however, on Pete Alonso, as he blasted his 31st home run of the season, a 474-foot moonshot that was the longest of his career. The 474 blast was also longer than any homer he hit in the Home Run Derby which he won last Monday.

For the Mets, the victory was their fourth straight, the longest such streak since May. They are now 4-1 to start their current nine-game road trip.

Offense

The Mets managed 17 hits in the game on Wednesday.

The Mets started the game as if they were late to catch their plane to San Francisco as Minnesota starting pitcher Martin Perez retired the first seven Mets on 15 pitches. The Mets broke through in the top of the third.

After Michael Conforto popped-out on the first pitch he saw, Amed Rosario stepped to the plate and slugged his tenth home run of the year over the left-field wall. It was Amed’s 43rd RBI. The homer tied the game at 1-1. Adeiny Hechavarria followed with a single for the Mets second hit of the game, but New York failed to score further.

After the Twins retook the lead in the bottom of the third, 2-1, the Mets loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the fourth. Pete Alonso reached on a throwing error by Twins’ third baseman Miguel Sano. Wilson Ramos followed with a double to center putting runners on second and third.

Then, on a two-strike pitch, Robinson Cano was hit by a pitch to load the bags. Todd Frazier grounded into a 4-4-3 double play that scored Alonso to tie the score at 2-2. Conforto struck out and the Mets managed only one run in the frame. The run was unearned.

The Mets stranded a runner on second in both the fifth and sixth innings. Frazier just missed a home run in the sixth as he doubled off the wall, but the Mets could not bring him around.

In the seventh, the Twins brought in reliever Trevor May. The first two Mets he faced reached base. Rosario punched a base hit to right to lead-off, followed by a double to deep center off the bat of Hechavarria to put runners on second and third. After Jeff McNeil popped out, Dominic Smith was sent up to pinch-hit for J.D. Davis.

Smith was struggling before the All-Star break and also after going 0-12. He made his first hit of the second half count as he slammed an 0-2 pitch for a home run to deep right to give the Mets the lead at 5-3.

The Mets broke the game open in the eighth. Matt Magill came in to pitch for Minnesota and with a little help from his right fielder dropping a routine fly ball, gave up six unearned runs to give the Mets an 11-3 lead. The Twins defense has let them down repeatedly in this short series as two of the three runs the Mets scored on Tuesday were also unearned.

Cano led off with a walk. Two outs later the roof caved in on the Twins. Rosario singled for his third hit off the day putting two men on, Then, Hechavarria lifted a fly ball to left which Eddie Rosario dropped. The error allowed Cano and Rosario to score to make the score 7-3. Then, McNeil stepped up and stroked his 25th double of the year driving in Hechavarria to make it 8-3. Smith followed with a single to make it 9-3, Smith’s fourth RBI of the game.

The slumping Pete Alonso then came up to bat. He had been 1-17 since the All-Star game but changed all that in a hurry as he launched his 31st home run of the year into the third deck in left field. It was a 474-foot tape measure shot. The blast was Alonso’s 54th extra-base hit to set a Mets rookie record. He now has 71 RBIs.

Minnesota position player Ehire Adrianza came into pitch the ninth for the Twins. The Mets tacked on three runs to make the score 14-4. The Mets scored a dozen runs in their last three innings. Rosario had two RBIs and Hecchavarria one in the frame.

Rosario, Hechavarria, Frazier, and Smith all had multi-hit games for the Mets.

Pitching

Mets starter Jason Vargas made his 17th start of the year against the Twins on Wednesday. He got through the first working around a lead-off walk to catcher Mitch Garver.

In the second, Minnesota took the lead. Max Kepler doubled to right just out of the reach of a diving Jeff McNeil. with two outs, Miguel Sano singled to left scoring Kepler to give the Twins the early lead. Luis Arraez also singled, but Vargas got Garver on a line-out to Frazier to limit the damage to just one run.

The Mets tied the score in the top of the third, but Minnesota took their second lead of the game in the bottom of the frame. Nelson Cruz homered to right to give the Twins a 2-1 lead. It was Cruz’s 18th home run of the year, the 378th of his career. He has hit six of those 378 against Jason Vargas.

Once again, the Mets tied the score in the top of the fourth. Vargas settled down retiring six in a row including a 1-2-3 fourth inning. The Twins took their third lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth as Met nemesis Mitch Garver homered to deep center to give Minnesota a 3-2 lead It was Garver’s 15th four-bagger of the year and fourth against the Mets.

Vargas bounced back getting the Twins in order in the sixth. It was Vargas’ last inning of the game. He pitched a quality start but was hurt with the home run ball. The Twins lead the league in homers with 174 after Garver’s dinger. His final line: 6 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 4 K, 1 BB, 88 pitches (62 strikes).

Jeurys Familia came in to pitch the seventh. He gave up a lead-off single to Marwin Gonzalez. After a Sano strikeout, Familia induced a double play off the bat of Arraez to end the inning. Familia appeared to have good velocity on all of his pitches in his one inning of work.

Chris Mazza came into and pitched the eighth and the ninth. He only gave up a single run as Garver scored on a Rosario ground out.

On Deck

The Mets will conclude their road trip with a visit to San Francisco with four against the Giants. It will be the third time this year the Mets visit California. New York took two out of three from the Giants at Citi Field on June 4-6.

In a compelling match-up, the first game of the series features a battle between Noah Syndergaard (7-4, 4.55 ERA) and Madison Bumgarner (5-7, 3.86 ERA). Syndergaard was excellent in his last start against Miami allowing only two runs on five hits with nine strikeouts. For the year, he has a 1.24 WHIP and 110 K in 112.2 IP.

Bumgarner suffered an elbow bruise in his last start before the All-Star break. He didn’t seem to have any ill effects in his last start against Milwaukee on Saturday as he allowed only one unearned run on seven hits, He struck out six. Bumgarner has an impressive K:BB ratio of 121:25, a nearly 5;1 ratio. Bumgarner has never lost to the Mets owning a 6-0 lifetime record against the Amazins’.

First pitch is at 9:45 PM. The game will be telecast on SNY and broadcast on WCBS 88-AM.