Sal not ready to declare that Pete Alonso looks set to break out and carry Mets: 'I'm not there yet'
Pete Alonso had a monster night for the Mets on Tuesday, going 3-for-5 with a three-run home run against the Nationals in another win for New York.
The victory opened up a two-game lead over the Braves in the Wild Card standings, and it came after Alonso spoke up in a team meeting as the Mets gear up for critical games down the stretch that will determine their postseason fate.
BT believes Alonso's big night could foreshadow the Mets slugger finally breaking out and carrying the team when New York needs it most, but Sal still isn't sold given how the pending free agent's season has gone so far.
"I'm not there yet. It was a three-run homer when they were up 6-1 against the Nationals and the game was over," Sal said. "I'm not knocking him. He had three hits…it was a nice game for Alonso, and the bloop hit, the 'excuse me' two-run single…but I've heard this before with Alonso. I've said it before with Alonso. 'This is where Pete's gonna take off.' I haven't seen it.
"I'm not gonna go nuts and say Pete Alonso is back and is gonna go on a heater and carry the Mets because he hit a meaningless three-run homer."
Alonso has nine hits in his last 20 at-bats in a potential sign that he is finally heating up, but Sal says he will hold his praise until he does it when it matters most against teams that are fighting with them for a playoff spot.
"Big deal, Pete. The game was over. It wasn't an important home run," Sal said. "Another one where you're padding your stats and piling on. I'm not knocking him. I'm just trying to bring everyone back to reality for a second. What Alonso did was nice, but ultimately, he has to do it in big spots against better teams like the Phillies and Braves."
