There are moments in baseball that feel like the world stands still. The crowd holds its breath, the lights get brighter, and heroes either emerge or disappear. Pete Alonso rose—again—in Queens on Monday night.
The Mets were facing the Pittsburgh Pirates in a tense ninth inning. The game was tied at three after they let a one-run lead slip through their fingers due to several defensive errors.
Fans have discovered, however, that the New York Mets are resilient in the face of adversity.
They’ve made the late innings their playground, and Alonso is their ringmaster.
The ninth inning drama: from error to elation
A little amount of luck got things started. A little flaw in the Pirates’ armor allowed Francisco Lindor to go to base. The scene was created when Lindor rushed to third after Juan Soto tore a solo one out later.
The audience sensed it. Something was about to shatter.
Alonso’s swing sent the ball flying toward right field, and it did. It didn’t have to be a home run, but it wasn’t. Lindor beat the throw, ran home, and tagged up.
The Mets easily prevailed, securing a 4-3 victory with typical New York tenacity.
Alonso’s fist went up. The squad overran the field. The Mets were unstoppable on another night, another pivotal moment.
Clutch is in Pete Alonso’s DNA
Alonso is accustomed to this. He has repeatedly been that man. He came through when it counted most during the previous year’s postseason. Nothing has changed this year.
His astounding 180 wRC+ in high-leverage scenarios, as reported by FanGraphs, shouts domination when the stakes are at their greatest.
It’s worth noting that he had previously singled to give the Mets a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning.
These are the moments he lives for.
Brandon Nimmo, a teammate, stated, “He loves these situations.” “He desires them. He frequently delivers for us.
And that’s Alonso’s problem. He doesn’t back down from a challenge. Like a painter gazing at a blank canvas in the last moments of a timed challenge, he yearns for it. For him, the pressure sharpens the moment rather than distorts it.
Mets’ late-inning magic is no coincidence
The squad as a whole is pulsing with late-game enthusiasm, even though Alonso is the beating heart. The Mets currently have the biggest run differential (+27) in the league from the seventh to the ninth innings, according MLB.com.
In the same frames, they also lead in OPS, slugging percentage, and batting average.
It’s not luck. It is an identity.
“We don’t give up,” Alonso remarked. “We’re a scrappy bunch. Yeah, we’ve got players that can drive the ball out of the yard… At the end of the day, though, we are just a resilient group. We battle till the very end.
Consider a fighter who is continuing punching in the twelfth round despite being battered and bleeding. The 2025 Mets are that.
They come to life when most teams falter, whether they are behind, tied, or defending a lead.
More than numbers: a team that feeds off heart
Sure, metrics provide a clear image of the Mets’ late-inning domination. But what those metrics don’t indicate is the fire in Lindor’s dash, the snap in Alonso’s bat, or the way the dugout explodes when a win is stolen from the jaws of a tie.
This is a belief-driven team. They support one another. They are certain someone will take the initiative. That person wears No. 20 most of the time.
The Mets like the close calls in a league where blowouts are usually when superstars shine the brightest. The nail-biters. The walk-offs.
Pete Alonso, too? When the stakes are high, you would bet on him.
