Pete Alonso went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts on Sunday as the Mets fell further out of first place thanks to a sweep at the hands of the Phillies, but the slugging first baseman maintains that his at-bats have been better than the results have shown.
He might have a point.
Yes, Alonso hasn’t recorded a hit in his last 21 at-bats and 29 plate appearances, but he has remained confidence in the knowledge that he is making good contact, and eventually, some of his batted balls will have to find holes.
“I’m hitting balls hard,” Alonso said. “They’re either not going out of the yard or I’m hitting balls right at guys. It’s a tough game is hard sometimes. I’ve been putting together a lot of quality at-bats. I’ve been taking my walks and taking what the pitchers give me, but I’m doing my best to hit the ball hard and find a hole. Today I hit one at 107 [mph] and 28 [degree launch angle]. In any park that should be a homer but the wind knocked it down, and that’s how she goes sometimes.”
Indeed, Alonso’s batted ball profile over the last month suggests that his outcomes typically would be a lot more favorable over a full season. Over the month of August so far, which has seen Alonso pick up just two hits in 28 at-bats, the home run derby champion has posted a hard hit rate of 47.6 percent, which would be his highest monthly total of the season so far, per FanGraphs. His soft contact rate of 9.5 percent would be the lowest of any month so far this year as well.
“Over the past week it’s been frustrating not seeing balls fall,” Alonso said. “But what is good is I’m hitting the ball hard…I feel like I’ve been on base a whole bunch.”
Alonso has walked nine times during his hitless streak to post an OBP of just under .300 in that span, while striking out just six times. The batted ball he referenced came off the bat at 106.7 mph, had an expected batting average of .960, per Statcast, but resulted in a flyout.
And Alonso doesn’t believe he’s the only one hitting into some brutally bad luck for the slumping Mets.
“I’m not necessarily the only one that’s going through it right now,” Alonso said. “Jeff [McNeil] gets in there and hits a line drive right to [Jean] Segura the second batter of the game. Then two outs, man on second, Dom [Smith] hits a laser right at Jankowski, the center fielder. I feel like we’ve gotten a lot of really bad breaks. Balls have gotten held up in the wind or right into the shift.
“It’s been really difficult, because it’s not like we’re not putting the ball in play hard. Balls are coming out of the box hot. But collectively as a group, it’s been really hard to find hits, because this is a really result-oriented game…it’s frustrating not getting hits…but the only thing I can control in the box is what pitch I swing at, and if I swing at a pitch and make contact, is hit it hard.”
Both McNeil and Smith’s exit velocities on those batted balls were over 100 mph, but both resulted in outs. Alonso can relate, especially over the past week, but unfortunately for New York, exit velocity doesn’t win games, outcomes do, and right now, the Mets have dropped four in a row and eight of their last 10. If the baseball Gods don’t begin rewarding their quality of contact soon, the team might not have enough time to see the outcomes of a long season balance themselves out.
“That’s baseball,” Alonso said. “There’s ups and downs. That’s unfortunate. It is what it is. On to Tuesday.”
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