Pete Alonso powers Mets offense, Griffin Canning shuts down Dodgers to grab season series

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a day ago

LOS ANGELES — The Mets might look back on Wednesday night in Chavez Ravine as a pivotal moment in their quest for National League supremacy.
Last August, it was a fateful afternoon in Phoenix that set the course for the Mets' postseason journey when a ninth-inning Jose Iglesias RBI single clinched the season series and a tiebreaker over the Diamondbacks, which came into play down the stretch in early October.
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On Wednesday night, the Mets took home the season series and a potential tiebreaker with the Dodgers down the line with a 6-1 victory in front of 45,733 fans at Dodger Stadium.
"It's good to win the series overall, but we've got one more tomorrow to win this series here," Carlos Mendoza said. "Yeah, we're talkiong about the seven-game set, but that's a really good team there. We're showing that we're a good team, I've been saying it, yet we still have a ways to go."
Griffin Canning and Pete Alonso played the leading roles in the victory. Alonso tagged a pair of home runs and drove in five of the Mets' six runs, while Canning held the Dodgers scoreless across six innings.
With the win, the Mets maintained the top record in the National League, improving to 39-23 and 4-2 against the Dodgers with the series finale on deck at 4:10 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
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"Whether it's playing an extra game for a division or playing an extra game for a playoff spot, don't want to have that," Alonso said. "We want to pick up as many games as possible, and this group understands that. We're locked in. We're just really excited for the opportunity that we have tomorrow."
Griffin Canning brings season's best performance
New York Mets pitcher Griffin Canning (46) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 4, 2025, at Dodger Stadium.
Canning was coming off his worst performance of the season on May 28 when he needed 80 pitches to get through three innings and allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits and four walks.
The right-hander felt that he did not have a handle on his secondary pitches and it led to his second loss of the season. It came on the heels of a rain-shortened 2⅔-inning outing against the Dodgers at Citi Field.
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Canning got his repertoire back dialed in on Wednesday night. He only allowed three hits and one walk while striking out seven. A Dodgers baserunner did not advance past first base against the veteran right-hander.
"Just executing pitches, going one pitch at a time, trusting Luis (Torrens) back there," Canning said. "He called a great game. We were on the same page. Jeff (McNeil), in particular, running some balls down. The offense jumping out to an early lead helps to reinforce going out there and attacking the zone.
He led with his slider, which he threw 37 times and induced nine of his 13 whiffs. He handled the top three of the Dodgers' lineup, holding Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman to one hit in nine at-bats.
After allowing a one-out single to Dalton Rushing in the fifth inning, Canning ended the frame by striking out Kike Hernandez and Ohtani looking on a fastball and changeup. He entered the sixth inning with 90 pitches and only needed nine to get through the frame, picking up fly balls by Betts and Tesocar Hernandez and striking out Freeman on a slider.
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"I feel like I kind of got back to how I was pitching the beginning of the year and spring training, kind of leaning on the slider and changeup," Canning said.
Pete Alonso provides the pop
New York Mets first base Pete Alonso (20) hits a three-run home run during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 4, 2025, at Dodger Stadium.
Pete Alonso ensured that there would be no drama on Wednesday night.
After the Mets and Dodgers played back-to-back extra-inning games on Monday and Tuesday, Alonso nearly single-handedly provided the separation for the Mets in the win.
Early on against Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin, the opening run scored on a Juan Soto groundout after Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo had reached on a hit by pitch and error.
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With a runner on base, Alonso moved the Mets ahead 3-0 on an opposite-field two-run home run to right field on a first-pitch slider.
With Canning holding down the Dodgers' offense, the Mets carried a 3-0 lead into the eighth inning. Alonso stepped to the plate with Brandon Nimmo and Soto on base and destroyed a three-run home run 447 feet up the bleachers in left field.
"It felt good, but for me, I was just more excited to grab some insurance runs right there. That's a very high-octane, potent offense that they got over there, so those insurance runs are really, really big for us and give our pitching staff a breather."
Alonso's two-home run performance gave him 14 on the season — tying Lindor for the team lead. He now has 53 RBI on the season, moving him into a tie with the Cubs' Seiya Suzuki for most in the NL.
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After watching his average drop from .349 to .288 by the end of May, Alonso appears to be heating back up to start June. With Wednesday's breakout performance, the Mets first baseman is now 5-for-16 with three home runs, 10 RBI and three runs this month.
"I just feel consistent. I just feel like myself," Alonso said. "I've felt pretty much myself the entire year so far, pitch to pitch and AB to AB, so that's all I'm trying to do. I'm just trying to be the same guy every day."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets: Pete Alonso two home runs, Griffin Canning quality start in win