Pete Alonso was the hero of Thursday’s clinching win for the Mets, as it’s hard to top a three-run home run in the ninth with your team trailing 2-0 in a winner-take-all game.
But there were plenty of other heroes in what was one of the most memorable wins in baseball history, and Boomer and Gio made sure to shout them all out as they opened Friday’s show.
Of course, they had to start with Alonso, who is now the owner of arguably the biggest home run in franchise history.
“It made it even more special with his struggles,” Gio said.
“Sometimes you can’t reach the greatest moments without going through something negative…you can look back and say it was all worth it for a moment like this.”
But Alonso isn’t in position to be the hero had it not been for the team’s MVP all season, as Francisco Lindor fell behind in the count to start the ninth, inning, but worked a walk to help set the table for Alonso three batters later.
“Francisco Lindor, you can’t say enough about him at this point,” Gio said. “He was the only guy doing anything offensively for 95 percent of this game. He gets on, and when you get that first guy on...it just changes the feel. Now you’re talking about the tying run at the plate, and here we go.”
After Alonso and Starling Marte gave the Mets the lead, Carlos Mendoza called on lefty starter David Peterson to come out of the bullpen and close a winner-take-all game, and he did just that in all of seven pitches.
“David Peterson, to come out of the bullpen in that situation, you gotta have some real mental fortitude and balls to do that,” Gio said. “Closing out a playoff game on the road with a two-run lead like that??”
Edwin Diaz wasn’t available for the ninth, only because he had come on in the seventh to stop the bleeding while keeping it close in the eighth. It was a contribution that could be overlooked, but Boomer says it shouldn’t be.
“That Monday game and last night, that just is special stuff…everyone wants to participate in it and pick up their teammates,” Boomer said. “Edwin Diaz let the team down and Francisco Lindor [on Monday] picked him back up…and Jose Butto, two bombs later…let’s bring in Edwin Diaz. Thirty nine pitches later, he kept the team in the game. I want to give him credit.”