NY Mets: Pete Alonso’s top five highlights from the 2021 season

4. May 2: Alonso rips a three-run double against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday Night Baseball

Just a couple of days before this clutch hit from Alonso, the Mets had gotten into a scuffle with the Phillies when José Alvarado had incited a benches-clearing incident after yelling at Smith following a strikeout. The next day, Alonso had introduced a mysterious new character named Donnie Stevenson in a postgame press conference after a narrow 5-4 win over the Phils. Tensions were high on both sides for Sunday’s game, which somehow ended up being more eventful than the two previous games combined.

Coming into the eighth inning of the finale matchup, the Mets were down 4-2. After a leadoff homer by Kevin Pillar, an RBI single from José Peraza (assisted by a mad dash from noted “Caballo Loco” Jonathan Villar), and a bases-loaded walk from Alvarado to Michael Conforto, the Mets found themselves up 5-4. Enter reliever David Hale. Enter Alonso. The stage was set for the Mets to add on, and add on they did.

Hale’s first pitch to Alonso didn’t have a chance. The slugger smacked a fastball into the right-center-field gap to score all three runs and put the Mets up 8-4, capping a spirited six-run inning for the Amazins. Alonso added a bit of a flourish to his clutch hit with some emphatic flexing at second base, which based on the circumstances seemed well-warranted. The Mets ended up needing all of those runs after the Phillies nearly came back in the ninth, eking out an 8-7 win. In a season that frequently lacked hits with that level of swagger, the Alonso show earned rave reviews that night.