Alonso's glove -- not bat -- the star in Mets' crisp win in SF

SAN FRANCISCO -- At some point soon, Pete Alonso will hit his 253rd career homer, passing Darryl Strawberry for the most in Mets history while continuing to stake his claim as one of the premier offensive talents the franchise has employed.

But Alonso hits home runs all the time. What he did in the early innings of Friday’s 8-1 Mets win over the Giants was both rarer and nearly as impactful. Playing first base at Oracle Park, Alonso made a string of fine defensive plays to help Clay Holmes escape early trouble, which in turn allowed the Mets to cruise to their fifth straight win.

"Pete, he made some really good picks over there tonight that really saved us,” Holmes said.

Alonso’s first bit of notable glovework occurred in the first inning, when Wilmer Flores hit a check-swing tapper back to the mound. Holmes short-armed his throw to first, but Alonso picked it cleanly from the dirt, hopping on one foot to keep his balance.

An inning later, Alonso ranged beyond the lip of the outfield grass to field a two-hopper from Jung Hoo Lee. As Lee raced down the line, Alonso spun and fired a strike to Holmes, just in time to nail the speedy outfielder. The next batter hit a grounder to Francisco Lindor, whose one-hop throw proved elementary for Alonso.

"Not an easy one,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “That’s an in-between hop there. If that ball gets away, that’s a completely different inning.”

Then came Alonso’s pièce de résistance. With the Giants rallying in the third inning, Matt Chapman hit a grounder to third, where Ronny Mauricio fielded it cleanly but fired wide of first base. So wild was Mauricio’s throw that Alonso’s only attempt to corral it was to leap off the bag. As he extended his glove to grab the baseball, Alonso brushed Chapman’s helmet for an out that umpires granted after a replay review.

When Mets replay analyst Harrison Friedland recommended a review, Alonso was as surprised as anyone.

"I didn’t think I had it,” Alonso said, noting that his priority was catching the ball, not tagging Chapman. “I looked up, I was like, ‘Huh?’ I was confused that we challenged it. I didn’t even think we had a shot.”

Alonso’s defensive game was part of a crisp total effort for the Mets, who stole three bases and did well to drive up perennial Cy Young contender Logan Webb’s pitch count. They scored two runs off Webb in the first inning, one in the third (on a Lindor homer) and three in the fourth (highlighted by a Brandon Nimmo two-run single).

Through it all, Alonso went hitless, finishing 0-for-4 with a sacrifice fly. He was one of the game’s top performers regardless.

"You’ve got to give credit to Pete,” Mendoza said.

Although Alonso has statistically been a below-average defender this year (just like nearly every year of his career), he does provide his share of contributions at first. Most notably, Alonso ranks near the top of the Major League leaderboard in scoops, a category he’s dominated over the past few seasons.

When it comes to picking balls in the dirt, as Alonso did twice on Friday, arguably no one in MLB is better.

Alonso’s throws have been less consistent, but that’s an area he’s worked to improve this summer. At this point in Alonso’s career, he’s never going to be an elite defender. But if he can make most of the routine plays and a few of the challenging ones, he’ll provide more value for the Mets than his bat alone could.

"I’m just stoked that I was able to contribute, and … prevent some runs coming across,” Alonso said. “Clay was pouring his heart out, out there. I was just trying to make some plays.”