NEW YORK (AP) — The last time Pete Alonso approached home plate, he never approached the batter’s box. Phillies manager Joe Girardi quickly held up four fingers for an intentional walk.
At that point, it was too late.
Alonso homered, doubled and drove in four runs, taking the major league RBI lead and powering the New York Mets past Philadelphia 8-6 on Friday night.
“He’s always one step away,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said, adding, “he never stops pushing.”
Alonso has 45 RBIs this season and has particularly beaten the Phillies, with five homers and 17 RBIs in 10 games against them.
The slugger tied the team record of 28 RBIs in the month of May set by Willie Montañez in 1978. Alonso has four more games to tie the Mets record for RBIs each month, set by Hall of Famer Gary Carter with 34 in September 1985.
Alonso’s RBI is the highest by Mets player before Memorial Day, surpassing Bernard Gilkey’s 44 in 1996.
“I just try to capitalize on the opportunities and be as consistent as possible every day,” he said.
Alonso hit a sacrificial fly in a three-run first, a two-run homer – his 12th – in the third and an RBI brace in the fourth.
“We have such a gritty approach. We don’t let pitchers get away with mistakes and we’re just playing really good team ball right now,” he said.
Alonso also made a nifty early diving save to keep Philadelphia from scoring early, one of six rushers he lined up for outs. And he caught pinch hitter JT Realmuto’s foul to finish eighth with runners in second and third.
Trailing 7-0 by Carlos Carrasco, the Phillies went close by scoring six times in the sixth inning, capped by Garrett Stubbs’ three-run homer.
Mets relievers Drew Smith, Joely Rodríguez, Seth Lugo and Edwin Díaz held their own, helping the NL East leaders beat Philadelphia for the seventh time in 10 games this season. Díaz got his 11th save in 14 occasions.
Whitewashed by Carrasco (5-1) on two hits before the sixth, Philadelphia rallied. On-court hits from Rhys Hoskins and Alec Bohm created RBI singles from Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos.
A ground scorer from Jean Segura and a two-out walk to Odúbel Herrera brought in left-hander Chasen Shreve, and southpaw Stubbs lined up a drive in the right-field seats.
Showalter said Carrasco got his thumb stuck while attacking a ball up the sleeve, but didn’t expect it to be a problem.
“We took advantage of some, you know, light hitting – if you want to call it – and we made it work in six innings. Stubbs has a huge three-run homer and all of a sudden we’re back in the game,” Girardi said. Unfortunately, we couldn’t score after that.
The Mets added a run in the bottom half on Starling Marte’s RBI grounder.
With storms all around Citi Field, the Phillies brought Bailey Falter (0-2) back from Triple-A to start. On his first pitch, Brandon Nimmo hit a routine ground ball against rookie shortstop Bryson Stott, who threw it out for an error.
“I know everyone here works, it just doesn’t pay off,” Castellanos said.
THAT’S ENOUGH
The Phillies and Mets have a recent history of dusting hitters on pitches, and they’ve had a few tense moments already this season. After Segura was hit on the left hand by Carrasco early in the second, JD Davis was elbowed by Falter’s first pitch in the bottom half. There were no more falls.
MOVES
Phillies: Struggling LHP Jose Alvarado was sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Alvarado, 27, was 0-1 with a 7.62 ERA in 17 games. The lefties were batting .333 against him.
Mets: Right-handed reliever Yoan López had his three-game suspension reduced to one game and served the penalty. He was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse before the game and sat out. MLB has ruled he intentionally threw Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber on May 1.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Phillies: SS Didi Gregorius (sprained knee) stepped onto the field before the game. He will need rehab before returning, Girardi said.
Mets: OF Travis Jankowski is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a broken left hand. He was operated on and a screw was inserted. Showalter said Jankowski appeared to be injured in a diving catch. … RHP Jacob deGrom (shoulder) throws on flat ground before the game. He will travel with the team when they embark on a west coast road trip in early June. The two-time Cy Young Award winner has not pitched this season.
NEXT
Phillies: RHP Zach Eflin (1-3, 3.65 ERA) starts Saturday night. He’s 3-5 with a 5.03 ERA in 14 career starts against the Mets.
Mets: RHP Taijuan Walker (2-0, 2.70) tries his first home win since June 15.
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