Another game against the Chicago Cubs, another home run for New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso. The Mets first baseman hit a two-run blast in the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2 in the Mets’ 4-3 win over the Cubs on Wednesday night. Alonso now has 15 home runs and 34 RBIs in just 27 career games against the Cubs.
The home run from Alonso was his fourth in the series and gave him 35 for the season. The home run gave Alonso four seasons of at least 35 home runs, becoming the first player in franchise history ever to do it. Alonso is playing in his fifth big league season, and the only time he didn’t reach the 35-homer plateau was during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season when he hit 16 in only 57 games.
Alonso picked up two RBIs on the night, giving him 467 for his career. That leaves him one RBI behind Keith Hernandez for 10th on the Mets’ All-Time list and for the most by a Mets first basemen. Alonso currently sits fifth with 181 home runs on the franchise list, only 11 behind Howard Johnson for fourth and 71 away from tying Darryl Strawberry for the top spot.
Following a bad June that he missed time after getting hit on the hand and a slow start to July, Alonso has been mashing of late with a 1.187 OPS and nine home runs in his last 19 games. Alonso is up to .227/.321/.533 with a 133 OPS+, 35 home runs, and 87 RBIs on the season. His home runs and runs batted in are third in the National League.
Alonso is trying to finish off a critical season for himself strong as the 28-year-old enters potentially his last offseason with the Mets. The first baseman will become a free agent after the 2024 season, and there have been no reports of severe extension conversations between the two sides.
