QUEENS, NY — It might have taken longer than expected, but this should become routine for the New York Mets moving forward.
For the first time this season, Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Juan Soto homered, leading the Mets to complete their three-game sweep of the struggling Colorado Rockies with a 5-3 win on Sunday at Citi Field.
It’s the second consecutive game that Soto homered, and the Mets hit three home runs. They capitalized on the easier portion of their schedule, going 5-1 against the Chicago White Sox and Rockies. With the loss, Colorado is now 9-50, continuing the worst start by any team in modern MLB history (since 1901).
Alonso and Lindor’s home runs came in consecutive innings, with Alonso giving the Mets a 3-1 lead in the fourth with his 12th of the year before Lindor broke a 3-3 tie one inning later with his team-leading 13th homer.
Despite allowing two home runs, Mets starter Clay Holmes pitched a career-high seven innings, allowing three runs on three hits with three strikeouts and a walk. The former Yankees reliever, now a Mets starter, has a 3.07 ERA through his first 13 starts in Queens and is just 2.2 innings away from tying his previous single-season career high in innings pitched.
The Mets initially struggled against Rockies starter Carson Palmquist, who entered Sunday’s game with an 8.78 ERA and just six strikeouts across three starts.
Through three innings, the left-hander had a 1-0 lead thanks to Orlando Arcia’s third-inning home run and had already struck out six Mets while allowing just one hit — a Tyrone Taylor single in the third.
However, in the fourth inning, Palmquist walked Starling Marte and hit Soto to start the frame. Alonso capitalized by hitting a 1-2 fastball 407 feet into the right-field seats for his 12th home run, giving the Mets a 3-1 lead.
The home run gave Alonso 633 career RBIs, moving him into fourth place on the Mets’ all-time list, surpassing Howard Johnson.
Holmes struggled with home runs, giving up his lead in the top of the fifth. After hitting Keston Hiura, he allowed a two-out, two-run homer to Tyler Freeman — his first of the season — tying the game.
After going his first seven starts without allowing a home run, Holmes has now allowed seven in his last six outings.
Lindor regained the lead for the Mets in the bottom of the fifth with his 12th home run, a shot into the left-field seats on a 1-1 fastball. It was Lindor’s third home run in three games.
Soto added insurance with his 10th home run of the season, hitting a splitter from Colorado reliever Zach Agnos 388 feet over the right-center-field fence.
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