FLUSHING, NY — To begin, it’s about Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso. The Mets lineup is potent with this trio, capable anytime of hitting the home run ball. The Mets anticipated a bunch of home runs from all three which can only define wins.
And this triple threat can intimidate an opposing pitcher, they did that Sunday afternoon at Citi Field. Home runs from Lindor, Soto, and Alonso and leading the Mets to their three-game trifecta sweep, 5-3 over the Rockies, a team headed to a MLB record losing season.
However this is what manager Carlos Mendoza and the Mets envisioned. Home runs from all three, except this happened in the same game as teammates. Citi Field sold out (43,224), and the ball flying out of the ballpark.
“There’s three really good hitters at the top,” Mendoza said about his lineup as the Mets headed to Los Angeles for a three-game series and one to follow at the Rockies. “It’s fun to see them going deep in the same game. We envisioned that. When you’ve got those three at the top, it’s pretty special.”
Though, only special when this trio does it often. And the Mets even at a season-high 15 games over .500 (37-22), have been struggling to score runs, the month of May had them next to last in the league driving runners home.
Partly attributed to the hard contact and no hits coming from Soto. The leadoff hit and home run from Lindor went silent, this after an auspicious month of April. Alonso started to chase pitches again and perhaps tried too hard for the home run pitch, though among NL leaders in home runs (12) and among RBI leaders in baseball with 46.
Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
All three put runs on the board. The 12th home run for Lindor and Soto with his 10th in the eighth inning that gave the Mets their 5-3 lead. And it seems Soto may be fighting off the doldrums of a disappointing first two months in the first of his 15-year, $765 million tenure with the Mets.
He has homered in back-to-back games and for him, it’s suddenly back to business.
The Mets need this production to go along with their league leading pitching ERA of 2.84, which has also been a strength in 59 games. Clay Holmes (6-3) with seven innings and three hits continued to provide another good outing. They will take that ERA, but a trifecta sweep and home runs from their big three is even better.
“We’ll get hot, and it’s gonna be exciting when that happens.” Alonso said. “I just want to help the team win every day. However I can. I’m just really happy to do so. Come game time, it’s really awesome to go into battle with these guys every single day.”
Alonso had the go-ahead three-run homer to the opposite field in the fourth inning that got the Mets going. In the process, he moved into fourth place on the Mets’ all-time RBI board (632) and broke a tie with Howard Johnson. Next to surpass are David Wright (970), Daryl Strawberry ((733) and Mike Piazza with 655.
He was referring to Soto and Lindor, a duo of multiple-time LatinoMVP Award winners, and the rest of a Mets lineup that has that ability to score in bunches. Home runs or not, the Mets proved in April and at points in May when they led the league in scoring their lineup can be potent. But they hit a rough patch and expected Soto to eventually become that generational player that scored a huge contract.
Soto, despite the talk has been more discontented with his at-bats going for outs and not hits, contact has not been an issue, Mendoza continually has stressed it would be a matter of time for Soto. He said he’s too good of a player.
Soto connected with his solo home run to right-center, a swing reminiscent of his 41 home runs and 109 RBI last season with the Yankees. It had Alonso, Lindor, and the Mets as a team all talking. But it was Soto, who said it’s about the team.
“It’s not only about us three,” Soto said. “It’s about the whole team. When everybody comes through, the dugout is always happy.”
Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports
And from the press box vantage point, it was evident. Soto returned to the dugout. The Mets as a group gave the high fives and posed for photos in their HR dugout celebration. They know what Soto brings to the table and the home run ball does make a difference.
The Mets also win when Lindor provides a home run (26-game winning streak when Lindor homers). Lindor, Alonso and Soto are the ninth trio of Mets players to each record double-digit home runs before the team’s 60th game of the season.
“At the end of the day, it’s an overall win.” Lindor said. “And I’m not superstitious, so I don’t believe in. Every time I hit a home run, we’ve got to win. Everybody knows that we have a good lineup. In baseball, it’s tough for everybody to click at the same time. The beauty of it is, even when we haven’t all clicked at the same time, we have won games.”
Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
But when they all hit home runs in the same game, or at different times, the Mets have that ability to win more games. It has to be consistent and they hope that follows them to Los Angeles, the defending World Series champions.
“I’ve felt good since day one,” Soto said. “It’s just the results haven’t been there. Finally I’m getting some balls landing, finding some holes, some gaps. We’ve just got to keep working on it.”
It worked Sunday afternoon. A perfect home run trio for the Mets
Rich Mancuso is a senior writer and contributor at LatinoSports.com – X: @Ring786, Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
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