Hurricane Ophelia set the Mets up with two opportunities in one day to throw a wrench in the Marlins’ postseason hopes. Unfortunately for the fish, Pete Alonso was ready to play the villain.

Alonso made his mark immediately against the Marlins and lefty Braxton Garrett in Game 1 of the doubleheader. With Brandon Nimmo on first, Alonso lined a no-doubt, two-run homer to left field. The homer was a bullet, traveling 416 feet and leaving the bat at 114.6 mph.

Sep 3, 2023; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) is greeted by left fielder Jeff McNeil (1) after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning against the Seattle Mariners at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The long-ball gave the Mets an immediate 2-o lead and ended a 43 at-bat stretch without a home run for Alonso. It was the second-longest stretch of the season for him without a homer. The longest for Alonso was a 49-at-bat stretch between July 6 and 25.

The first-inning home run from Alonso was also historical. It was the 192nd long ball of his career and it tied him with Howard Johnson for fourth place on the Mets’ all-time home run leaderboard.

Tying Johnson was another sign that Alonso continues to be one of the most prolific home run hitters in Mets’ history. He reached 192 homers in only five seasons, one being the COVID-19-shortened season. It took Johnson nine seasons to hit 192 with the Mets.

It’s not unfathomable to believe Alonso won’t reach second place on the Mets’ homer list before the end of next season. He’s 28 homers behind Mike Piazza for third place, 50 homers behind David Wright for second, and 60 homers behind Darryl Strawberry for first.

While 50 homers is a large sum, Alonso has done it before and has the ability to replicate it. It’s more realistic for Alonso to reach third place on the leaderboard in 2024 and attack Wright and Strawberry’s position in 2025. That, however, would require an extension of the first basemen which is up in the air currently.

Alonso’s historical first-inning homer was just an initial sign of his big day to come. He finished Game 1 going 4-for-4 with a homer, double, two singles, and two RBI. Alonso also reached base for a fifth time after he was plunked for a National League-leading 19th time.

His Game 1 performance, along with Francisco Lindor‘s four RBI performance, carried the Mets past the Marlins to an 11-2 victory. The win improved the Mets record to 8-3 against the Marlins at the time.

Alonso wasn’t as dominant in Game 2 on Wednesday. He went 1-for-4 with a double but came inches away from hitting his second home run of the day. The homer would have cemented Alonso in fourth place all by himself with 193 career home runs.

Instead, the double put Alonso in scoring position with the game tied at 2-2 in the eighth. The Mets were unable to drive him in and lost to the Marlins 4-2 in Game 2.

Alonso still finished the day with a strong stat line. He went a combined 5-for-8 with a homer, two doubles, two singles, a hit by pitch, two RBI, and two runs scored in both games.

While it was an overall successful day for Alonso, the missed homer in Game 2 was substantial. Alonso currently sits at 46 homers for the season and only has four more games to reach the 50-homer plateau.

Alonso most likely won’t reach 50 homers, but it isn’t impossible. The Mets face the Phillies in their last three games and they have already made the postseason. Taijuan Walker is going to pitch on Friday and then the Phillies will save their best pitchers for October.

50 homers won’t make or break an already great season for Alonso. In 150 games, he’s slashing .222/.323/.517 with 46 homers, 21 doubles, and 117 RBI. Alonso is also second in the NL with 46 homers.

If the season ended today, Alonso would finish top 10 in homers and RBI for the fourth time in his five-year career. Alonso would also finish the season with a fifth consecutive season with an OPS above .800. The only other Met to start their career with five consecutive seasons with an .800 OPS was Wright. He did it nine seasons in a row.

OTD IN 2019

Today was monumental for the Mets organization and Pete Alonso. On September 28, 2019, Alonso hit his 53rd home run of his rookie season against Mike Foltynewicz.

The homer broke the MLB rookie home run record of 52 set by Aaron Judge back in 2017. For his historical year, Alonso took home the NL Rookie of the Year award and finished seventh in MVP voting. Alonso also cemented himself at the top of the Mets’ single-season home run record leaderboard.