Fearsome Four Flexes Power at Citi Field Opener

The top of the order lived up to the preseason hype Friday at the Citi Field opener. (Recall that Francisco Alvarez said in spring training that the Mets had the best lineup in baseball.)

It didn’t take long, with Francisco Lindor leading off the home first with a double (aided by a nifty slide around the tag attempt). And then Pete Alonso struck an opposite-field home run in his first at-bat at Citi Field after a winter that saw his free agency negotiations drag into February.

“It’s pretty cool,” manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters after the game. “I’m not gonna lie. You’re there in the dugout and everybody’s kinda waiting for that moment as he’s walking towards the plate. Standing ovation.”

“It means a lot to the people, to the fans and to our players and definitely to Pete. And then for him to go out there, first at-bat and goes the other way to kinda set the tone right away. First at-bat of the season here, Citi Field too, for him after the offseason with all the rumors and all that is a pretty cool feeling for him, for all of us and he got us going there.”

Juan Soto added an RBI double in the sixth and would later score on a double by cleanup hitter Brandon Nimmo. The top four in the lineup went 4-for-12 with three doubles, a home run, four walks, four RBIs, and five runs scored. (In stark contrast, the bottom five were 0-for-14 with an RBI.)

“I thought typical Juan Soto,” Mendoza said. “He’s going to help you win games in a lot of different ways. Whether it’s by getting on base, by getting the big hit, made a nice defensive play on (Anthony) Santander there towards the end of the game. Pretty good game for him.”

The performance is what many expect from the top of the order. Lindor, Soto, Alonso, and Nimmo are among the best of any top-four in the majors, and when the bottom of the lineup connects, the whole product will scare opposing fanbases. Alonso specifically was asked if a game like Friday’s was what he was thinking about when he re-signed with the Mets.

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“Honestly, like envisioning coming back for me it was just all about winning,” he said. ” And for me like knowing the culture here, knowing the guys, knowing the camaraderie. You need a great combination of talent, hard work and chemistry and obviously this place is familiar. Love it here. Love playing at Citi. Love being in New York and it checks all those boxes for me. It was the best option and it’s just such an easy decision to come back.”

“This is home for him,” Lindor said. “This is home. He’s on the road or here, he definitely feels very comfortable here. To see how the fans embrace him, to see how he embraces the fans, it’s super cool.

Alonso is off to a fantastic start with three home runs, 10 RBIs, and a .292/.433/.750/1.183 slash line. The slugging percentage and OPS both rank fourth in the National League. His RBI total ties him for second with Wilmer Flores, one RBI behind five players tied for the league lead.

“Pete’s been having a great opening to the season and I know he’s put a lot of hard work in this offseason,” Nimmo said. “And it’s just great to see it paying off for him right away to be having those dividends right away.

“Pete loves New York. He loves the Mets fan base and I’m so glad that he’s putting on a show for them. That was awesome, he put us on the board right away. Just very much Pete, he finds the barrel and it can leave any ballpark. We love what he’s doing and we love big Pete and want him to keep doing this and keep being a dangerous hitter.”

“This is stuff that you dream of as a kid,” Alonso said in an on-field post-game interview as the crowd chanted his name. “This is really special.”

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