Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

It was all about the long ball in Miami, as the New York Mets (47-26) defeated the Miami Marlins (32-38) by a score of 5-3 on Saturday afternoon. Pete Alonso hit two home runs, Chris Bassitt powered his way through seven innings and the Mets secured their first winning record in the month of June since the 2012 season.

The Mets struck first, as Alonso launched an opposite-field solo home run in the second inning to give his team a 1-0 lead. Alonso entered Saturday’s game hitless in 12 career at-bats with six strikeouts against Marlins starter Trevor Rogers, but he finally got to Rogers in a big way.

The fourth inning saw the Mets in prime position to extend their lead, as a double from Francisco Lindor put runners on second and third with no outs. The Mets were able to extend their lead to 3-0 through an RBI groundout from Mark Canha and an RBI single from Eduardo Escobar.

The Marlins answered right back in the bottom half of the inning, as Jesús Sánchez smacked a two-run homer off Bassitt to cut the Mets’ lead to 3-2. The Marlins would have tied it on that home run if it had not been for Starling Marte, who threw out Garrett Cooper attempting to advance to third on a Jesús Aguilar single the at-bat prior.

The Mets had every opportunity to get those runs back in the fifth inning, as they loaded the bases against Rogers with one out. However, Marlins reliever Zach Pop was brought into the game and promptly retired Alonso and Canha to end the threat.

The inability to pad their lead immediately came back to haunt the Mets in the bottom of the fifth, as Bryan De La Cruz crushed a solo home run to tie the game at 3-3. All three Marlins runs to that point were scored with two outs.

Despite the two home runs allowed, Bassitt did a great job of keeping his pitch count low. He pitched seven innings, striking out five while not issuing a single walk. This was Bassitt’s third consecutive start working into the seventh inning, and his longevity has proved to be a valuable asset for a Mets team that has had to rely on spot starts to fill out their starting rotation in recent weeks.

It took until the eighth inning for the deadlock to be broken, and it was none other than Alonso who delivered the blow with a long home run to put the Mets up 4-3. It was Alonso’s third multi-homer game of the season and the 14th of his career.

James McCann returned from the injured list and made his first start since May 10th. He started at catcher and batted ninth, going 1-for-4 with a ninth-inning single. He came around to score on a Brandon Nimmo double, his third hit of the game to make it 5-3 in favor of the Mets.

The bullpen shut it down after Bassitt’s departure. Seth Lugo made his return from the paternity list and fared far better than his last appearance against these same Marlins, retiring all three batters he faced in the eighth inning. There were no trumpets for Edwin Díaz in this road appearance, but he showed out all the same, striking out the side in the ninth en route to his 16th save.

Player of the Game: Pete Alonso

Alonso is having an otherworldly season, and his heroics on Saturday made all the difference in a close affair. He is up to 22 HR and 68 RBI on the season, the latter of which leads all of baseball. Pete is inevitable.

Final line for Alonso: 2-for-4, 2 HR (22), 4 RBI

On Deck

The Mets will look to complete a series sweep when they match up against the Marlins on Sunday afternoon at LoanDepot Park. First pitch is set for 12:05 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on Peacock. The Mets will have David Peterson on the mound, while the Marlins will go with Daniel Castano.