MILWAUKEE — Pete Alonso could be less than 24 hours from never wearing a Mets uniform again.
After the Mets blew a 3-2 lead against the Brewers in the eighth inning of a Game 2 wild-card loss, an elimination game will be played at American Family Field on Wednesday against the Brewers. But the homegrown first baseman isn’t ready to face the possibility of going home yet.
“I really haven’t thought of it, because my whole focus is just going deep in the playoffs,” Alonso told reporters after the game. “I don’t really want to think about that at all. I want to think about winning the game tomorrow.”
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Alonso’s been struggling at the plate over his last 11 games. In including the postseason, he’s gone 5-for-35 (.142 batting average), all singles, with one RBI and 12 strikeouts. In two wild-card games, he’s 1-for-5, though he did draw three walks in the first game of the series.
The Mets could use his power in Game 3 against the Brewers.
Of the 17 total hits they’ve collected through two wild-card games, only two have gone for extra-bases — Jesse Winker’s two-run triple and Tyrone Taylor’s double in Game 1.
While the Mets have put plenty of traffic on the bases, putting a total of 24 runners (17 hits and seven walks) on in two games, they haven’t hit any home runs to drive those runners in.
“When you’re facing an elite pitching staff, it’s not going to be easy to hit balls out of the ballpark,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’ve done a good job of going the other way, taking what the game is giving us, putting the ball in play. Today we didn’t do that.”
Alonso, whose 226 home runs since his 2019 rookie season are the most in the NL, hasn’t come close to hitting one out. While his focus has been on taking “decent at-bats,” Mendoza senses something big from his power hitter on Thursday.
“He’s just one swing away from hitting a big one,” Mendoza added. “He’s got another opportunity tomorrow and he’ll step up.”
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Manny Gómez may be reached at [email protected].