The Latest Breaking News from Pete Alonso

PITTSBURGH — The Mets have started playing poorly at a particularly unfortunate time.

NEW YORK — The Mets were in need of a straightforward, slightly boring, but convincing win. On Friday, they accomplished the win part, but not quite the rest.

A rough spot to be in.

No, the Mets weren't swapping around lottery tickets on the mound during a game.

NEW YORK — The funny thing about greatness, at least when it comes to starting pitchers, is that it can be defined by the things that don’t happen.

NEW YORK — These days, the alleged dog days, against good teams and bad, in games with heightened importance to the postseason race and throwaway midweek series, no matter the quality of the opposing starting pitcher, the Mets have turned the diamond at Citi Field into their own personal merry-go-around.

NEW YORK — There was no letdown for the Mets on Monday night. Of course there wasn’t.

NEW YORK — With 53 games and more than eight weeks to go, the NL East is far from won, the annals of baseball history pockmarked enough by comebacks and collapses and other September surprises that, well, as one long-ago Mets manager said, it ain’t over till it’s over.

NEW YORK — The Mets pulled out all the stops on Thursday night in a 6-4 win over Atlanta before 38,693 at Citi Field.