Pete Alonso continues epic postseason with HR, bat flip vs. Aaron Nola in Mets’ NLDS Game 3 win vs. Phillies

NEW YORK — Pete Alonso carried his bat nearly all the way down the first-base line before hurling it into the air.

The Mets’ home-run hero had struck again.

Alonso punctuated his latest postseason homer — a second-inning solo shot against the Phillies’ Aaron Nola — with a sky-high bat flip of epic proportions, setting the tone Tuesday night in the Mets’ high-energy postseason return to Citi Field.

The opposite-field blast broke a scoreless tie in the Mets’ 7-2 win in Game 3 of the NLDS, giving them a 2-1 lead over the NL East-winning Phillies in the best-of-five series.

The 385-foot blast was the third home run of the postseason for the fan-favorite first baseman, who heard chants of “Pete A-lon-so” from a sold-out crowd throughout the evening.

That Alonso would get another chance to homer in front of the Citi Field fans this year was far from a certainty even a couple of weeks ago.

Alonso, an impending free agent, received a standing ovation during the Mets’ regular-season home finale on Sept. 22, with fans acknowledging it could be the slugger’s last game at Citi Field in a Mets uniform.

At the time, Alonso described the ovation as a “storybook” moment.

But he and manager Carlos Mendoza expressed confidence during that final homestand that the Mets would return to Citi Field in the postseason, knowing full well they would need to clinch a playoff spot during their season-ending road trip and would likely have to play their wild-card series on the road as well.

Sixteen days transpired between that Sept. 22 finale and Tuesday’s playoff game. During those two-plus weeks on the road, the Mets reeled off comeback after comeback, none bigger than when Alonso drilled a go-ahead three-run home run in the ninth inning of last week’s winner-take-all Game 3 in their wild-card series in Milwaukee.

“That’s the coolest baseball moment I’ve had in my career,” Alonso told the New York Daily News before Tuesday’s game. “So it’s really special.”

Alonso also homered in Game 2 of the NLDS in Philadelphia on Sunday.

He walked twice Tuesday against Nola, including in the sixth inning to load the bases and chase the Phillies starter out of the game.

Nola ended up allowing four runs in five-plus innings, with Mets trade-deadline acquisition Jesse Winker also crushing a solo shot — and celebrating with an emphatic bat flip — against the right-hander.

Alonso continues to cause nightmares for Nola, a one-time All-Star who went 14-8 with a 3.57 ERA this season. Alonso owned a .320 average, five home runs and a 1.050 OPS in 50 career at-bats against Nola coming into Tuesday’s playoff game.

The 29-year-old Alonso hit .240 with 34 home runs, 88 RBI and a .788 OPS this season, his sixth with the Mets. His 226 home runs rank third in franchise history, only 26 behind all-time leader Darryl Strawberry’s 252.

Alonso has stated his desire to remain with the Mets, but with his contract ending after the postseason, his future remains the subject of widespread speculation.

For now, Alonso is one win away from his first trip to the NLCS, which the Mets can book a ticket to with a win Wednesday night in NLDS Game 4 at Citi Field.

“Hopefully we keep it going,” Alonso said before Tuesday’s game. “I just want to keep contributing the best way I can.”

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