Pete Alonso hasn’t missed a game in more than two years, but he’s in danger of snapping that streak Sunday. The Mets‘ first baseman was out of the lineup for the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds with a right hand contusion. X-rays were negative and the slugger was receiving treatment Sunday morning with the hope of coming off the bench.
Mark Vientos got the start at first base and hit fourth in the lineup behind Juan Soto.
Alonso felt pain at the base of his thumb in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Reds, but the Mets aren’t entirely sure how and when the injury first occurred, though it was likely swinging a bat.
“Impact, I guess,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday morning at Citi Field. “Guess he got jammed a couple times and it just got worse.”
Alonso alerted the training staff after his second at-bat Saturday. The Mets are hoping that it’s only a minor issue, but they wanted to be cautious with their All-Star first-baseman. The last time Alonso was out of the starting lineup was May 30, 2024, a day after he was hit in the hand by a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he later appeared in that game as a pinch-hitter.
Sunday’s absence puts Alonso’s franchise-high streak of 353 consecutive games played in danger.
“When you’re dealing with a hand injury, we thought it was best to get ahead of ourselves here because it can linger,” Mendoza said. “Having the conversation with him, with the trainers, we thought it was just best — this was last night, let’s see how you feel tomorrow. He’s feeling a lot better, getting treatment, but if you keep pushing this type of injury it could affect him. Trying to get ahead of ourselves here and hopefully he’s a player for us.”
Since entering the league in 2019, Alonso has rarely asked out of games. He played 161 games as a rookie, and last year he played in all 162, taking tremendous pride in his ability to be on the field for his teammates.
Alonso is hitting .276 with an .892 OPS, 21 home runs and a league-leading 26 doubles this season, but has struggled along with the rest of the lineup this month. In 14 games in July, he’s hit just .180 with two doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI. He’s been unlucky with a .167 BaBIP over that time, but he’s also struck out 12 times in 61 plate appearances and walked nine times. He went 1-for-5 with a strikeout Saturday.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Right-hander Tylor Megill (elbow sprain) has started to play catch from 120 feet. He’ll continue to play long toss before getting on the mound, but the Mets aren’t ready to put a timeline on a return.
