MIAMI — Pete Alonso has come back from the brink before.
But this kind of night on a near must-win Game 160 looked like a return to that brink.
In the inning that very well could haunt the Mets all offseason, Alonso’s glove could not come through.
In a couple of innings in which the Mets might have been able to erase their defensive mistakes, Alonso’s bat (and others’ bats) could not come through.
Friday’s 6-2 loss to the Marlins at loanDepot Park was painful for all Mets but probably particularly painful for Alonso, who might have two games left in his Mets career.
“For now, we just got to do what we can to win tomorrow,” Alonso said after a day on which the Mets fell into a wild-card tie with the Reds, who own the tiebreaker.
The Mets’ fall throughout the second half has been steady and long; on Friday, the plummet was brief.
They led 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth when Alonso could not make two plays that helped begin a six-run frame.
After Griffin Conine singled, Troy Johnston lined a shot to Alonso’s right. He dove, his glove reaching the ball but not clasping it, glancing off and into right field for a single that put runners on the corners.
After a two-run triple that tied the game and a ground out that Alonso cleanly handled, Jakob Marsee grounded hard to Alonso, who could see that Heriberto Hernández had taken off from third base.
“He’s going on contact,” Alonso said. “It was a tough one.”
Perhaps in a rush to throw home, Alonso watched the ball carom off his glove and toward Jeff McNeil.
McNeil had no play at home, so he flipped to Alonso for the out at first base as the go-ahead run scored.
“I’m still happy I was able to get an out,” Alonso said. “But not ideal. If I field it cleanly, I would’ve threw it home.”
On this night, Alonso’s bat could not atone.
He started well, his double that springboarded off third base in the first inning scoring the Mets’ second and final run.
But he could not pad that two-run lead in the third, when Juan Soto reached third base with one out. Sandy Alcántara, who went from hittable to dominant in the outing, used a diving changeup to induce a chase from Alonso — who was 1-for-4 on the night — for strike three. Soto would be stranded.
“He’s able to make some pitches against Pete with a runner on third base,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of Alcántara, who was finally out of the game after walking Francisco Lindor to lead off the eighth.
Down 6-2, the Mets put two runners on base for Alonso. But against lefty Cade Gibson, Alonso chased a fading changeup for the strikeout. McNeil then walked to bring the potential tying run to the plate, but Mark Vientos popped out.
“We did a great job early, but we got to figure out a way to get Sandy out of the game [earlier],” said Alonso, whose Mets no longer control their playoff fate.
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