Pete Alonso snapped the longest home run drought of his career Sunday night, when his two-run shot in the first inning sparked the New York Mets to a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the rubber game of a three-game series.
The Mets dropped Friday’s series opener 7-5 in 13 innings before winning the final two games of the rematch of last year’s National League Championship Series. The Dodgers have lost six of nine.
Shohei Ohtani, who threw his first live batting practice Sunday afternoon since he underwent a second Tommy John surgery in September 2023, hit a 411-foot homer on the second pitch he saw from Kodai Senga (5-3) before the Mets answered with a two-out, two-pitch rally in the bottom half against right-hander Landon Knack (2-2).
Juan Soto reached on an error by third baseman Max Muncy, after which Alonso homered into the left field seats. The round-tripper was the first for Alonso after May 5, a span of 16 games and 71 plate appearances in which he batted just .175 (11 of 63).
Alonso’s previous longest home run drought was a 15-game stretch from April 28 through May 14, 2021.
The Mets took advantage of another Dodgers error to score their final run in the third. Francisco Lindor led off with a single, went to third when shortstop Mookie Betts overthrew second base on a potential double-play grounder by Mark Vientos and scored when Soto’s grounder to second forced Vientos.
Six players had one hit apiece for the Mets.
Senga gave up the one run on five hits and four walks while striking out five over 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander wriggled out of a second-and-third, none-out jam following Ohtani’s homer in the first, when Tyrone Taylor threw out Betts trying to score from third on Will Smith’s flyout to center before Senga struck out Teoscar Hernandez.
Ryne Stanek and Max Kranick combined for 2 2/3 hitless innings before Reed Garrett earned his first save by striking out two in a one-hit ninth.
Freddie Freeman had two hits for the Dodgers.
Knack allowed the three runs on four hits and no walks while striking out five over a season-high six innings.
–Field Level Media
