**1. Pete Alonso, not a Jew. But for homers? He [hit](https://x.com/mets/status/1698405393825739219?s=46&t=W2uVHRLCSkwwE5FbTN-FNQ) [two](https://x.com/mets/status/1698425174645743824?s=46&t=W2uVHRLCSkwwE5FbTN-FNQ)!** (*Read that to the tune of Adam Sandler’s Hannukah Song*) After his second-longest home run slump of the season – 11 games without a home run with the longest slump being July post-injury for 12 games – Pete came out swinging, blasting two home runs to take him to a total of 41 on the season. He currently rests at #3 in baseball, behind only Ohtani (44) and Matt Olson (43). There is a real shot at Pete taking the 2023 HR Title and it would have been even better if the Barves didn’t bonk his hand. Let’s hope this is a return to fork and Pete can climb up to 50 to end the season! Pete accounted for 4 out of the 6 runs scored, batting in two on top of himself. Additionally, he went 3-4 on the game. Guess we gotta start calling him Meta Knight because he OWNED Kirby! This firmly earned him the first star of the game!
**2. Jeff McNeil** is a squirrely bastard. While Pete went 3-4 and knocked in two homers, the Squirrel went 2-4 and [got himself a solo home run](https://x.com/mets/status/1698415141832781929?s=46&t=W2uVHRLCSkwwE5FbTN-FNQ). I’ll admit, there was a game early season that terrified me about having Jeff call LF home, but he has looked great out there since Ronny came up. We are lucky that he’s a versatile, utility player and can just slot in anywhere on the field he’s needed. I’m counting down the days until he completes his goal of playing all-9 and gets to pitch & catch. Jeff’s complete game earned him the second star of the game.
**3. Francisco Lindor** cut his hair for the Mets to prosper! As I’ve said over, and over, and over, and over again, he is on a Golden Glove campaign this year and yesterday only proved it. [After J-Rod smashed a 112 MPH line drive, Lindor yelled YOLO at the top of his lungs, then stopped, dropped, and rolled to make a freak catch for a 6-4-3 double play to keep Megill alive in the top of the 5th.](https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/484843cf-15fb-4c84-8797-94b62e8a4967.mp4) While he recorded no hits, he did nearly steal second, but Pete said “Nah dude, I like to hit the ball” and knocked a single that allowed Lindor to go from 1st to home. This combo earns him the third star of the game.
4. **Honorable Mentions: Ronny Freaking Mauricio** continues to show flashes on the defensive side that I did not expect and his bat impresses, while he recorded his second stolen base in as many games.
I am truly hoping that Ronny does not peter off like Vientos & Baby, because so far he has been a diamond in the rough part of this season. If anything else, it shows that me that our path to a World Series is to call up a prospect every game between now and the end of the season. Seems simple, no?
Once again, this game was a return to 2022 Mets form. Kirby has been one of the hottest pitchers of the season, yet the Mets continued to have strong At Bats that pushed his pitch count up while scoring 4 runs, ultimately driving him to the dugout in just 3 frames. After that, our old pal Dominic Leone came to visit and let us score a run. Thankfully, the Mariners bullpen experience is not too dissimilar to ours and their final reliever also gave up a run to us, Pete’s 41st homer, in the bottom of the seventh.
The fact that we are where we are in the season and can take a series against the Mariners – the hottest team in baseball coming into the series – really shows the resiliency of our boys. While we are all but mathematically eliminated from play-off contention, this is looking like a promising core to build around for 2024. Especially with Billy Eppler saying before the game yesterday we will be active in the pitching market come free agency, our biggest area of weakness, I see no reason we can’t be a playoff contender next year.
Also, I decided to experiment with some links to ley plays. As always, hope you enjoy and happy Off-Day for Mike Piazza’s Labor Day Birthday!