Mets romp over D-backs for 8th straight home win

NEW YORK -- Somewhere between the offense scoring eight more runs and the defense completing three straight noteworthy plays and Pete Alonso making history and the team running its home winning streak to eight, an undeniable truth became clear.

This Mets club is pretty darn good.

The latest evidence came early and often Tuesday evening throughout an 8-3 drubbing of the D-backs at Citi Field, where the Mets continued to dominate every challenger in their path. They scored eight times from the second through fourth innings off Eduardo Rodriguez, completing a nine-inning stretch (dating to Monday) in which they plated 25 runs.

Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte hit two-run homers, and Pete Alonso added a solo shot to move into a tie for fifth place on the team’s all-time RBI list.

The Mets improved their MLB-leading record to 21-9 and their league-best home mark to 13-1.

“It’s always electric here, man,” said outfielder Tyrone Taylor, who authored the game’s signature defensive play. “We love playing here. I can speak for everybody on that.”

Three plays … and three hugs
The Citi Field crowd was still buzzing from the opening play of the fourth inning -- a nifty 5-6-3 putout that required Francisco Lindor to adjust on the fly and make a strong throw across the diamond -- when Taylor outdid him with perhaps the Mets’ best catch of the year.

Racing back and to his right, Taylor laid out to snare a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. line drive, catching it just before it would have hit the lip of the warning track. Taylor slid several feet on the dirt before raising his glove and rising to his feet. As he did, he mouthed, “Wow,” apparently impressed by his own handiwork.

“I shocked myself a little bit,” Taylor said, adding that pitcher David Peterson hugged him three times in thanks for the effort.

Moments later, Lindor handled a tough hop at shortstop to record the inning’s final out. All three balls could have been hits. None were.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Peterson said.

Relentless at home … and home plate
Some numbers to underscore the Mets’ recent accomplishments:

• This is the franchise’s finest 30-game start to a season since 2006, when they also went 21-9. That mark is fourth-best overall in team history, behind only the 1972 (23-7), 1986 (22-8) and 1988 (22-8) teams.

• The Mets are one of only six National League teams to win at least 19 games in a single April. And on Wednesday, they’ll have a chance to make it 20.

• The offense scored 25 runs over a nine-inning stretch from the fifth inning Monday through the fourth inning Tuesday. To put that into perspective, only 22 teams in modern Major League history have scored 25 times in a nine-inning game. The record is 30.

• The Mets’ 13-1 start at Citi Field is their best mark to open a season. They’re one of only 11 teams in MLB history to win at least 13 of their first 14 home games.

Polar Vortex
If he maintains anything close to his current pace, Alonso will become the Mets’ all-time home run king at some point in the second half of this season. With his solo shot off Rodriguez in the books, Alonso (233) needs just 20 more homers to pass Darryl Strawberry (252) for the most in franchise history.

“Oh, sick. That’s awesome. Hell yeah,” Alonso said when informed of his achievement. “We’ve had such a tremendous amount of guys come through this organization who were just absolute ballers. To be on that list, that’s really cool.”

While he’ll need to stick around long term to take over the Mets’ RBI record, as well, Alonso is also pushing up that leaderboard. He’s driven in 614 runs now, tied with Ed Kranepool for fifth on the franchise list. The difference? Kranepool needed 18 seasons to reach that number; Alonso has done it in six and change.

Above Kranepool are two players Alonso can realistically pass this season: Howard Johnson (629) and Mike Piazza (655). He’ll probably need another season in Flushing to catch Strawberry (733), and he may need two more after this one to pass David Wright, the franchise’s all-time leader with 970.

It’s a record that Alonso can absolutely seize if he sticks around Queens long term. But given his strong start to the season, Alonso is more likely than ever to opt out of the final year and $25 million on his contract. From there, it will be a matter of whether he and the Mets can agree on a new one.