MIAMI — Pete Alonso has come back from the brink before.
But this form of evening on a close to must-win Game 160 regarded like a return to that brink.
In the inning that very nicely could hang-out the Mets all offseason, Alonso’s glove could not come through.
In a couple of innings in which the Mets might have been ready to erase their defensive errors, 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 in all probability significantly painful for Alonso, who might have two video games left in his Mets profession.
“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 all through the second half has been regular and lengthy; on Friday, the plummet was transient.
They led 2-0 in the backside of the fifth when Alonso could not make two performs that helped start a six-run body.
After Griffin Conine singled, Troy Johnston lined a shot to Alonso’s proper. He dove, his glove reaching the ball but not clasping it, glancing off and into proper discipline for a single that put runners on the corners.
A dejected Pete Alonso walks back to the dugout after hanging out with a runner on third and one out in the third inning of the Mets’ 6-2 loss to the Marlins on Sept. 26, 2025. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
After a two-run triple that tied the sport and a floor out that Alonso cleanly dealt with, Jakob Marsee grounded arduous 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.
A downcast Pete Alonso watches the motion from the bench during the ninth inning of the Mets’ loss to the Marlins. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
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 evening, Alonso’s bat could not atone.
He began nicely, his double that springboarded off third base in the first inning scoring the Mets’ second and remaining 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 evening — for strike three. Soto would be stranded.
“He’s able to make some pitches against Pete with a runner on third base,” supervisor Carlos Mendoza said of Alcántara, who was lastly out of the sport after strolling 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 convey 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 management their playoff destiny.
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