There are moments in baseball that feel like the world stands still. The lights shine brighter, the crowd holds its breath, and heroes either rise or fade. On Monday night in Queens, Pete Alonso rose—again.
The Mets were staring down a tense ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates. A one-run lead had slipped through their fingers thanks to some defensive lapses, knotting the game at three.
But if there’s one thing fans have learned, it’s this: the New York Mets don’t wilt under pressure.
They’ve made the late innings their playground, and Alonso is their ringmaster.
The ninth inning drama: from error to elation
It started with a bit of luck. Francisco Lindor reached base on an error, a small crack in the Pirates’ armor. One out later, Juan Soto ripped a single, and Lindor sprinted to third, setting the stage.
The crowd could feel it. Something was about to break.
And it did—with a swing from Alonso that sent the ball soaring toward right field. It wasn’t a home run, but it didn’t need to be. Lindor tagged up, dashed home, and beat the throw.
The Mets walked it off, a 4-3 win carved out in classic New York grit.
PETE ALONSO WALKS IT OFF WITH A SACRIFICE FLY! pic.twitter.com/GlY1L108ma
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 13, 2025
Alonso raised his fist. The team stormed the field. Another clutch moment, another night where the Mets refused to be denied.
Clutch is in Pete Alonso’s DNA
This isn’t new for Alonso. He’s been that guy time and again. In last year’s postseason, he stepped up when it mattered most. This year, nothing’s changed.
According to FanGraphs, he owns a jaw-dropping 180 wRC+ in high-leverage situations—a number that screams dominance when the stakes are highest.
It’s important to point out that he had given the Mets their 3-2 lead earlier, in the seventh inning, with a single.
He lives for these moments.
“He loves these situations,” said teammate Brandon Nimmo. “He wants them. He comes through so often for us.”
“He loves these situations, he wants them. He comes through so often for us.”
Brandon Nimmo talks about Pete Alonso coming up clutch for the Mets: pic.twitter.com/vENEuRPStr
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 13, 2025
And that’s the thing about Alonso. He doesn’t shy away from pressure. He craves it, like a painter staring at a blank canvas in the final seconds of a timed challenge. For him, the pressure doesn’t blur the moment—it sharpens it.
Mets’ late-inning magic is no coincidence
Alonso may be the heartbeat, but the whole team pulses with late-game energy. According to MLB.com, the Mets now lead the entire league in run differential (+27) from the seventh through ninth innings.
They’re also tops in batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS in those same frames.
That’s not luck. That’s an identity.
“We don’t give up,” Alonso said. “We’re a scrappy bunch. Yeah, we’ve got guys who can drive the ball out of the yard… But at the end of the day, our identity is we’re just a scrappy team. We fight to the last out.”
Imagine a boxer, bruised and bleeding, still throwing punches in the twelfth round. That’s the 2025 Mets.
Whether they’re trailing, tied, or protecting a lead, they come alive when most teams fade.
More than numbers: a team that feeds off heart
Sure, analytics paint a clear picture of the Mets’ late-inning dominance. But what those numbers don’t show is the fire in Lindor’s sprint, the crack in Alonso’s bat, or the way the dugout erupts when a win is snatched from the jaws of a tie.
This is a team that feeds on belief. They rally behind each other. They know that someone will step up. More often than not, that someone wears No. 20.
In a league where superstars often shine brightest in blowouts, the Mets prefer the close calls. The nail-biters. The walk-offs.
And Pete Alonso? He’s the guy you’d bet on when everything’s on the line.
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