Getty Image / Sarah Stier
The New York Mets have been downright terrible this season so far. The team with the highest payroll in the history of Major League Baseball has not lived up to their exorbitant salaries. But, Pete Alonso may have changed the Mets fortunes this season
After a 14-7 start, the Mets have been terrible. Entering Wednesday’s game against the Rays, they were 20-23, losers of 16 of their last 22 games. And, they’ve played some not-so-great teams in that stretch, like the Nationals, Reds, Tigers, and Rockies.
They haven’t been particularly good at anything. Aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are both finally starting to show some signs of aging, the bottom of the lineup has been horrid, and good-enough starts from Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Brandon Nimmo hasn’t been enough to keep the team afloat.
They’ve tried to make some moves, and after calling up Mark Vientos from AAA Syracuse on Wednesday, had called up their top 3 hitting prospects as Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez have been previously called up.
And, two of those guys were huge in the best win of the Mets season, a dramatic 8-7, comeback win against the best team in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays.
After great start by Kodai Senga, the Mets found themselves trailing 2-0 in the 7th inning. But, Vientos, who was in the big leagues for a cup of coffee last year, made his mark in his first game of the season.
WELCOME BACK TO THE BIG LEAGUES MARK VIENTOS!!!!
THIS GAME IS TIED! pic.twitter.com/z8iegpI5pF
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 18, 2023
The Mets bullpen dug the team another hole, and they trailed 5-2 in the ninth. But, down to their last out, Francisco Alvarez had the biggest hit of the 21-year-old phenom’s young career.
Now it's Francisco Álvarez's moment. Two innings after Mark Vientos' game-tying, two-run homer, Álvarez hits a game-tying three-run homer. Wow.
Mets 5, Rays 5, bottom nine. pic.twitter.com/QBr1AUOet1
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 18, 2023
The bullpen once again blew it, but Pete Alonso had the Mets’ biggest hit of the season and walked off the Rays with a monster shot.
GET KNOCKED DOWN, GET BACK UP!
PETE ALONSO WALKS IT OFF WITH A 3-RUN HOMER! pic.twitter.com/x9njGXxtxJ
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 18, 2023
And, his catch phrase since Pete Alonso entered the Mets lineup in 2019 has been LFGM. The L,G, and M stand for Let’s Go Mets. You can guess what the F stands for. But, he let it all rip on Wednesday night.
Think the #Mets needed this one? Pete Alonso usually hits the fans with a “LFGM” but tonight he casually drops the F bomb. pic.twitter.com/dlBALapGgP
— uSTADIUM MLB (@uSTADIUMMLB) May 18, 2023
If you’re going to drop the F bomb on live television, that was the time to do it.