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Alonso out 3-4 weeks with wrist bruise, sprain

By MIKE PUMA mpuma@nypost.com

PITTSBURGH — An already disappointing Mets lineup took a significant hit Friday when Pete Alonso was placed on the injured list with a bone bruise and a sprain to his left wrist.

Alonso likely will be sidelined for 3-4 weeks by the injury — the result of getting drilled by a pitch on Wednesday in Atlanta — leaving the Mets without MLB’s current home-run leader this season, potentially into the All-Star break.

“Guys have to step up — including myself,” Francisco Lindor told The Post before the Mets lost the opener of a three-game series Friday 14-7 to the Pirates. “Pete is one of the best hitters in the game and is almost irreplaceable, so it’s going to be tough.”

Initial X-rays were negative on Wednesday after Alonso was plunked by Braves starter Charlie Morton, but the first baseman underwent a CT scan and MRI exam the following day and the team’s medical staff recommended Alonso be shut down, according to manager Buck Showalter.

Mark Canha and Mark Vientos are the primary candidates to play first base in Alonso’s absence. Canha started at first base on Friday — he had moved to the position two days earlier after Alonso departed the game — and Vientos took over the position in the eighth with Canha moving to right field.

But Alonso’s 22 homers represented 28.9 percent of the Mets’ team total entering play. It was the highest such figure in the majors. Lindor and Francisco Alvarez were next on the team with 11 homers apiece as play began Friday. The Mets were 16th in scoring, averaging 4.4 runs per game. Their team slugging percentage of .716 ranked 20th — with players such as Lindor, Daniel Vogelbach, Jeff McNeil and Starling Marte among the most conspicuous for their underwhelming productivity.

“Maybe this helps us get stronger,” Lindor said. “Maybe this helps us prove to each other we can do it … as a collective unit, we can do it. I am very optimistic. We are going to miss Pete. I love the guy a lot.”

Showalter noted the fact the Mets enjoyed a scoring outburst in their 13-10 loss to the Braves on Thursday night without Alonso in the lineup. The Mets’ six-game losing streak entering Friday was their longest since 2019, and now sits at seven

“We scored 10 runs against one of the best teams in baseball [Thursday] without him there against a really good pitcher,” Showalter said, referring to Atlanta’s Spencer Strider. “We have the people to withstand it. Obviously we’re a better team with Pete.”

The Mets recalled Luis Guillorme from Triple-A Syracuse to give them another position player in Alonso’s absence. Showalter had previously toyed with the idea of using Guillorme at first base if the need arises, but instead pinch-hit him for Lindor on Friday. The manager also listed Eduardo Escobar and Vogelbach among other options.

Though the situation might seem dire, Lindor expects the Mets to show the kind of mettle they displayed last season in winning 101 games.

“It might seem like we’re really far off, because we haven’t had that long stretch, that one good month where you win 20 games,” Lindor said. “We haven’t had that month that we just dominate everybody, those two months where we win every series.”

But Lindor said he “100 percent” knows the Mets have that kind of stretch in them.

“The Phillies are a good team, and we swept them,” Lindor said. “Toronto is a good team and it was the complete opposite and we couldn’t find our stride. Atlanta, all three games it felt like ‘We’re going to win, we’re going to win, damn we lost.’ I know as a collective group we felt like we were going to win all the games.”

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2023-06-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://nypost.pressreader.com/article/282368339047729

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