Mets beat Giants as Pete Alonso's leaping catch preserves victory for David Peterson
The Mets' Mark Vientos reacts after hitting a two-run double against the San Francisco Giants in the sixth inning on Saturday. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock/John G. Mabanglo
SAN FRANCISCO — The metrics will tell you that Pete Alonso is not a defensively superior first baseman. Your eye — well, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza’s eye, in particular — will tell you differently.
A night after making a number of acrobatic picks at first, Alonso all but saved the game for the Mets as they held on to defeat the Giants, 2-1, at Oracle Park for their sixth win in a row.
Called upon to protect a one-run lead in the ninth, Edwin Diaz allowed a one-out double off the rightfield wall by Jung-Hoo Lee. After pinch hitter Mike Yastrzemski struck out swinging, Patrick Bailey hit a bullet to first base that was snagged by a leaping Alonso on the backhand to end the game.
Bailey’s ball was hit at 105.9 mph and had an expected batting average of .790, according to Baseball Savant.
“Unbelievable,” Mendoza said. “He doesn’t get enough credit for his defense, because he’s elite . . . I know some of the defensive metrics [are down on him] because of the range, but other than that, you want the ball being hit to Pete.”
The play preserved a game in which David Peterson allowed one run, eight hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Mark Vientos’ two-out, two-run double in the fourth erased a 1-0 deficit. Lee’s double was the only hit the trio of Diaz, Reed Garrett and Ryne Stanek allowed in three innings.
The NL East-leading Mets (61-44) remained a half-game ahead of the Phillies.
Peterson (7-4) allowed plenty of traffic but rode his elite ability to induce weak contact and ground balls to produce another victory. The newly minted All-Star has allowed one earned run or fewer in a career-high four straight starts. His ERA dipped to 2.83, fourth-best among qualified lefthanded starters.
The Giants’ Willy Adames and Matt Chapman led off the fourth with back-to-back singles, and after Wilmer Flores struck out, Peterson walked Casey Schmitt to load the bases. Lee grounded to second but too slowly for the Mets to turn the double play as the Giants took a 1-0 lead. Luis Matos then popped out to second.
Peterson got into a touch more trouble in the fifth, but with better results. He allowed a one-out single by Heliot Ramos and a two-out walk to Adames to bring up Chapman. He worked the count full after going 1-and-2, but Peterson whiffed him on a nasty knee-high changeup to end the inning.
“He made pitches when he needed to,” Mendoza said. “He got ground balls . . . [and] we played very good defensively today . . . I thought the sinker was up in the zone a little bit today, but he was still able to give us six and give us a chance. He trusts the defense and the situation of the moment is never too big for him.”
In the sixth, the Mets capitalized on a truly miserable night by Rafael Devers, playing his third major-league game at first base (he committed a slew of misplays and made two errors). Devers was traded by the Red Sox amid much drama earlier this season, not the least of which was his reluctance to move to first base at midseason. He also provided a stark contrast with Alonso’s defense.
Juan Soto worked a leadoff walk in the sixth and stole his career-high 14th base — the 26th consecutive stolen base for the Mets without being thrown out, which is three shy of the major-league record — and one out later, Starling Marte walked. Brett Baty then hit a ground ball to first that Devers looked to throw to second, but he muffed the transfer and had to get the out at first. Vientos then smacked a double into the leftfield corner, driving in both runners, putting the Mets up 2-1 and ending Robbie Ray’s night.
Vientos has a six-game hitting streak. “I feel a lot better” in the batter’s box, he said. “I’m just sticking to my approach and doubling down on it, and when I get my pitch, not missing it . . . I was sitting fastball and then I saw the slider just pop out of his hand and I adjusted to it and put a good swing on it.”
Otherwise, the streaky Mets offense was stymied. They were 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base. But what they couldn’t do with the wood, they did with the leather: They made a slew of strong defensive plays behind Peterson, turned two double plays and capped the night with Alonso mid-air and Diaz exhaling off the mound.
“It’s awesome to be able to end the game right there,” Alonso said. “I’m just really happy I was able to contribute there . . . For me, I always want the ball hit to me.”
His teammates feel the same way.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
