WASHINGTON — Pete Alonso swung the bat, ran it in the air, capturing the first major title of his career to break a tie in the fifth inning, as the New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals 5-0 on Saturday.
After showing off, Alonso put his index finger to his mouth, as if asking the audience to shut up. And then, he celebrated with his mates near the home plate.
Chris Bassett sailed smoothly for six rounds on his debut for the Mets, who took his third win at the start of Buck Showalter’s tenure as manager.
New York outperformed Washington 17-4 on a combined basis and will look to complete a sweep on Sunday.
It’s been about 48 hours since Alonso bled into his lower lip from a ball. Other Mets hitters were injured during the early games of the series, leading to a clearing-out altercation on Friday.
There was revenge for Alonso. He found a fast ball from Joan Adon (0-1) at 91 mph and sent the ball over the left field fence for a 2-1 count.
New York filled the house with a few Adon tickets.
Bassett (1-0) arrived from Auckland Athletics last month on a deal. He dropped three singles—one out of the box—in six innings.
He got eight hits and distributed on foot.
For the Mets, the Dominican Starling Mart 4-0. Puerto Rican Francisco Lindor 3-1 inning record. Venezuela’s Luis Guillerme 3-0.
For the Nationals, Venezuelan Cesar Hernandez 4-1, Alcides Escobar 3-0. Dominican Juan Soto 4-2, Nelson Cruz 4-0, Michael Franco 3-0, Victor Robles 3-0.
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