Please, fasten your seat belt. Make sure your seat back and folding tray are in their full upright positions.
Pete Alonso is cleared for takeoff.
Grounded by a sophomore slump, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year rediscovered his swing in Wednesday’s 11-6 win over the Nationals at Citi Field, powering the Mets’ highest-scoring effort of the year with a home run, two doubles, three RBIs, three runs and a walk, as the team ended a two-game slide.
Alonso, who raised his batting average from .197 to .229, had just one extra-base hit in his first 13 games of the season, before breaking a career-worst 10-game homerless stretch over the weekend.
“The best way I can describe this whole process, I feel like the past eight or nine games, it’s like an airplane taking off. I’m in that takeoff mode before you get to cruising altitude,” Alonso said. “The first nine or 10 games were really tough. That’s obvious. I’m not gonna deny that, but I feel like the last eight or nine games I’ve been slowly taking off and I’m trending up the right way. Tonight, I felt really, really comfortable.
Pete Alonso celebrates after belting a two-run homer in the sixth inning of the Mets’ 11-6 win over the Nationals on Wednesday.Robert Sabo“I feel like the more I dive into this season, the better I’m gonna be. … I feel like I’m in a really good place right now.”
After totaling five runs in the first two games of the series, the Mets overcame a 3-0 first-inning deficit with four runs in the bottom of the inning, resulting in their biggest comeback of the year. Entering the game ranked 29th in the majors with runners in scoring position (.208), the Mets went 5-for-13 in such situations.
Dominic Smith, who combined with Alonso for the team’s first back-to-back homers of the season in a game-sealing, five-run sixth inning, collected his third home run of the season and three RBIs. Brandon Nimmo — who robbed Kurt Suzuki of a second-inning homer — added his third homer of the season, finishing with a season-high three hits.
“That was an outstanding performance by our hitters,” manager Luis Rojas said. “Hitting with runners in scoring position is one thing we haven’t been consistent at, and tonight it happened.”
Revealing hours before Wednesday’s game against the Nationals that Robert Gsellman would make his first start in nearly three years, the reliever instantly gave Rojas reason to second-guess the decision.
After allowing hits to Washington’s first two batters, Juan Soto — who hit a career-long 463-foot homer Monday in Queens — hit a towering shot to right, landing 466 feet away.
Struggling Nationals starter Anibal Sanchez (0-3) allowed the Mets to quickly climb back, with Nimmo hitting his fifth career leadoff home run and extending his on-base streak to 33 straight games. A two-out rally followed, with Alonso and Smith hitting RBI doubles, and Andres Gimenez delivering a run-scoring single, giving the Mets a 4-3 lead.
In the first 18 games of the season, the Mets scored a total of two first-inning runs.
“It shows a fight in the guys. The one thing that stands out is how the guys fight back,” Rojas said. “We’ve had some tough games already in the season, but the guys are always there fighting.”
Soto, 21, opened the sixth with the swing set to terrorize the Mets for the next decade or more, cutting the Mets’ lead to 5-4 with a homer off Justin Wilson.
Again, the Mets responded, as Conforto hit a two-out, two-run double over Adam Eaton’s outstretched glove in right field. Alonso followed with a two-run homer to left. As he celebrated his third homer of the season in the dugout, Smith went deep, too.
“This was such a complete win. We had contributions from absolutely everybody,” Alonso said. “This is a glimpse of what is more to come.”
Alonso noted that two-thirds of the schedule hasn’t been played. His season is just beginning.
“For me, the biggest thing throughout this entire thing is to stay calm and trust myself,” Alonso said. “I know what type of player I can be. For me, I know the sky’s the limit.”
