NEW YORK — It’s been a long time coming, but the Mets have finally won a series for the first time since Apr. 19. Just hours after their comeback win led by their young guns Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez, Buck Showalter turned back to the veterans in Thursday’s 3-2 win over the Rays as both of the youngsters were on the pine.
The hero from Wednesday’s win over the Rays may have busted out of his slump as Pete Alonso homered again after blasting a three-run walk-off homer the night before. Alonso’s 16th homer of the season gave the Mets a 2-1 lead in the fourth despite being under the weather.
“Of course I [considered benching Alonso],” Showalter said. “I talk to [Pete] every day. I know what the answer’s going to be most of the time [when I ask him if he’s good enough to play] and when you he contemplates it a little bit [he should sit]. Pete’s a competitive driven guy.”