"<strong

Pete Alonso continued his excellent start to the season on Wednesday against the Washington Nationals, putting together another great offensive performance as the designated hitter.

Alonso went 2-for-4 on the night with a home run, a run scored, and two RBIs. The two runs batted in extended Alonso’s National League lead on RBIs with 28.

The 27-year-old wasted little time in the first inning as he hit the second pitch of the at-bat for a two-run home run. The pitch, a 91.9 MPH sinker running inside, was sent 394 feet into left field.

In the sixth, Alonso got a base hit on the first pitch he saw from Aaron Sanchez, lining a curveball back to the pitcher. The ball hit Sanchez on his non-pitching hand at an exit velocity of 113.2 MPH, taking him out of the game.

In an 8-3 loss that did not feature too much offense from the Mets, Alonso gave the team a little jolt with his performance. After the game, Buck Showalter acknowledged the fact that the Mets allowed Sanchez to settle in, but still praised Alonso for his hitting against Sanchez.

“I think I helped him settle in a little bit, but Pete continues to swing the bat well,” said Showalter. “Sometimes that well is hard to go to every time. It’s difficult to do.”

The first baseman/DH is now batting .287/.355/.525 with 20 runs scored, eight home runs, and 28 RBIs in 32 games this season. He currently leads the Mets with his 152 wRC+, right above Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo at 151.

Alonso is hitting well at both first base and DH, but his small sample size at DH is especially impressive. In nine games as the Mets’ designated hitter, Alonso is hitting .314/.429/.800 with 10 runs scored, five home runs, and 15 RBIs.

While Alonso has mentioned in the past that he prefers to play first base rather than DH, if he continues to excel when only focused on hitting, it would not be surprising to see him slotted in as the DH more often. However, that would be more likely to occur if Dominic Smith is able to turn things around and find sustained success.