NEW YORK -- Mets first baseman Pete Alonso was not in Sunday’s starting lineup because of a right hand contusion he suffered during Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Reds at Citi Field.
Alonso, who went 1-for-5, started feeling pain during his first two at-bats on Saturday. After the game, X-rays on his hand were negative, according to manager Carlos Mendoza. Alonso is listed as day to day, but his playing streak didn’t come to an end as he replaced Mark Vientos at first base in the top of the seventh inning in Sunday's series finale.
“He is getting treatment. He says he is a lot better this morning,” Mendoza said. “ ... He got jammed a couple of times and it just got worse. He played through it yesterday. ... When you are dealing with a hand injury, we thought it was best to get ahead of ourselves because it could linger.”
It’s rare when Alonso is not in the lineup. His streak of 354 consecutive games played is the longest -- by far -- in Mets history. Alonso was last out of the starting lineup on May 30, 2024, but he came off the bench later in that game against Arizona. Alonso's streak ranks second among active players behind Atlanta’s Matt Olson (718).
Alonso is having a season to remember. He entered Sunday with a slash line of .276/.370/.522 along with 21 home runs and a team-leading 77 RBIs.