Players of the Week: Alonso, DeGrom Lead as Mets Go 6-2

Things could not be going much better for the New York Mets nowadays. The team just completed a 6-2 week, including taking four of five from the Braves. New York now leads the NL East by a much more comfortable 6 1/2 games and are playing their best baseball all season.

On the field, the week was highlighted by Jacob deGrom‘s return from over a year on the injured list. deGrom picked up right where he left off, which two dominant starts against division foes.

As for the lineup, it continued to produce. The Mets scored at least six runs in all but two of their games this week, with all of the lineup pulling its weight at some point. After this dominant week, the Mets now rank third in baseball in total runs scored (523).

Hitter of the Week

As has been the case many, many times this season, Pete Alonso picks up last week’s Hitter of the Week honors. As the Mets rolled through the Nats and Braves, Alonso slashed .367/.472/.733 with three home runs, six walks, and 10 RBIs. He put together three multi-hit games, including a three-hit game in the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader. In that win, Alonso also had a key run scored as he narrowly slid home safely – in a call overturned by video review – that got both Alonso and the Citi Field crowd roaring in applause.

Alonso’s 95 RBIs on the season trail Aaron Judge by just two for the major league lead. The Polar Bear’s 29 home runs rank third in the NL as well.

Pitcher of the Week

There is only one right answer here. Jacob deGrom made his long-awaited return to the New York Mets starting rotation and made two brilliant starts. He pitched as if he had not skipped a beat and has returned to his place as the team’s ace.

On Tuesday, deGrom was on a very strict pitch count (ended up with 59 pitches), but still made it through five innings, allowing just three hits and one run, striking out six National batters too. In a page from last season, the bullpen ended up blowing the game and deGrom finished with a no-decision, but to see Jake back on the mound was a joy to see for Met fans and baseball fans alike.

On Sunday afternoon, deGrom made his first start of the season at Citi Field. The ballpark was buzzing before the game even began, with the crowd standing in anticipation watching deGrom warm up pregame to a familiar tune in Simple Man. Once the game began, deGrom was untouchable – literally. He retired the first 17 batters of the game, a perfect performance in every sense of the word. A chance at history was quickly squashed with a Braves walk followed by a two-run shot, but it’s almost like none of that mattered. deGrom was pulled from the game but not before a truly thunderous and heartwarming standing ovation by the Mets faithful, saluting their homegrown pitcher.

The final line on deGrom in this win was another reason to smile: 5 2/3 innings, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 runs, 12 strikeouts.

Of note, the Mets tied a franchise record with 19 pitching strikeouts in this game. Joely Rodriguez struck out four in a phenomenal setup appearance, while Edwin Díaz does what he normally does and struck out all three batters he faced.