Mets' Pete Alonso Gets Last Laugh With Game-Winning Homer to Eliminate Brewers

The Mets slugger became a postseason hero with one swing of the bat.
Alonso clobbered a go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth inning of the Mets' 4–2 win over Milwaukee.
Alonso clobbered a go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth inning of the Mets' 4–2 win over Milwaukee. / Aaron Gash/MLB Photos via Getty Images

With one swing of the bat, New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso went from a underperforming star to a postseason hero.

Trailing 2–0 in the ninth inning with two runners on base, the Mets were two outs away from elimination when Alonso stepped up to the plate. Facing two-time All-Star closer Devin Williams, Alonso took a hack at a 3-1 changeup and poked it over the right-field wall for a 3–2 Mets lead over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Alonso entered Game 3 in a 5-for-38 slump (.132 batting average) and hadn't homered in his last 49 at-bats. He was a combined 1-for-11 in the wild-card series before stepping up to the plate in the ninth inning.

"This is something that you practice in the backyard as a kid," Alonso said on the ESPN broadcast after the game. "I'm just happy to come through for the boys."

Earlier in the game, Alonso served as more of a laughingstock among Brewers fans. In the seventh inning, he misplayed a routine foul ball with two runners on base. Had the Brewers scored those two extra runs, Alonso could've gone down as the Mets' goat rather than the hero.

Instead, Alonso and the Mets had the last laugh as they advance to the NLDS to battle the Philadelphia Phillies. Game 1 of the Phillies-Mets series is scheduled for Saturday at 4:08 p.m. ET.


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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.