Pete Alonso overpowered the Cubs at Citi Field on Monday night, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI in the Mets’ 11-2 victory.

Alonso’s first home run came in the bottom of the first against left-hander Drew Smyly, barely clearing the wall with a high launch angle of 42 degrees, which gave the Mets a 3-0 lead.

Pete Alonso. Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

“I thought I hit it really well,” Alonso told Steve Gelbs after the game. “I got it up in the air and I was just hoping it had enough, and thankfully it got over and it gave us an early lead.”

Alonso tagged Smyly for another home run in the bottom of the third. His 33rd homer of the year and second of the night was a no-doubter to center field, giving the Mets a healthy 5-1 lead, which they never relinquished.

With his two-home run performance on Monday night, Alonso continued his hot streak in the month of August. The first baseman is slashing .321/.367/.714/1.081 with three home runs since August 1, reinforcing the idea that he is out of his prolonged funk, where he slashed .171/.300/.268/.568 for two weeks in July.

“I’m feeling super confident,” Alonso told the media after his performance on Monday. “It’s just hard work, determination, and an unrelenting self-belief even when things aren’t going that well.”

Despite having a down year in many offensive categories, Alonso has still been one of the better hitters in MLB this year. His 33 home runs are the third most in MLB and second most in the NL, his 83 RBI are the third most in MLB, and his 128 OPS+ is well above the league average of 100.

Even in a down year, Alonso continues to be the bedrock of the Mets lineup. With the exception of the 2020 COVID-shortened season, Alonso has led the Mets in OPS+, RBI, home runs, and slugging percentage since being called up in 2019. In that time, Alonso has also been MLB’s best power hitter, leading the league with 179 home runs since 2019.

With his five years of dominance, Alonso is approaching franchise milestones in 2023 and is giving fans a reason to watch the remainder of perhaps the most disappointing season in franchise history. With 50 games remaining, Alonso is 13 home runs away from tying Howard Johnson for the fourth-most (192) home runs in franchise history, and five more RBI away from tying Keith Hernandez for the 10th-most RBI (468) in franchise history.

In just five years in MLB, Alonso is quickly becoming one of the greatest Mets of all time. He already holds the single-season record for most home runs and RBI in a season, is a three-time All-Star, and is on his way to a third 40-home-run season, which no New York Met has ever done twice.

While he chases franchise milestones, Alonso is putting pressure on Steve Cohen to extend him. Alonso is a free agent after the 2024 season and indicated after the deadline that he hasn’t spoken to the club about an extension. Instead, he stated he was focused on his time in a Mets uniform.

“Whatever their vision is, whatever their plan is, it really doesn’t necessarily matter to me because I’m here right now,” Alonso said. “I want to be the best player I can be right now and for as long as I’m here. It could be forever. We’ll see what happens.”