The Mets are rolling and Pete Alonso is setting the bar even higher.
On Wednesday the Mets won their sixth-straight game and swept a four-game series against the Marlins with a 7-2 win. New York is now three games above .500.
Yes, this is the same Mets team that was 11 games below .500 earlier this season.
The turnaround has been led by Alonso and his motivational words. The rookie has jolted belief into the fan base with his "L-F-G-M" slogan and he pumped the tires a little more after the win, saying the National League East title is not out of the picture for his team.
"It's been awesome. I think we have a chance to really do something great. We've got some really tough games ahead of us, but let's say, we keep this up, and win all six or win five out of six, that's going to put us not just in Wild Card talks, [but will give the Mets a] chance to win the division," Alonso said. "We've got a really awesome chance to do something really special and make a hell of a run towards the end. We're just going to keep playing ball and see what happens."
Alonso has turned things around for himself as of late as well. Since a slump following the All-Star break, Alonso's now homered in three-straight games and is up to 37 on the season.
"It's a consistent process and a game of constant adjustments. This past week or so it's been really good. I've seen a lot of the work in the cage and early work in the field starting to translate way more than it has been. I'm really happy with capitalizing on a pitch today," Alonso said.
Even when Alonso was slumping a bit, others have picked up the slack offensively, such as Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto, who had a strong game himself on Wednesday with two home runs (24). Since the break, the Mets are 19-6 and have won 13 of their last 14.
"We've got a lot of really dangerous hitters," Alonso said. "Our lineup is unbelievable. We seem to be clicking really well right now. It's awesome to see."
Clearly with his prediction, Alonso thinks the best is yet to come. And he believes there's good reason to think so, even with tougher foes in the Nationals and Braves on the Mets' upcoming schedule, both teams that sit ahead of the Mets in the NL East standings.
"You gotta slay the giant, so to speak. You've got to go through these tough teams in order to get to the playoffs and when you get to the playoffs, it's just going to be that much harder. We just need to keep grinding it out and I feel like if we keep playing the way we are, keep hitting well, our defense has been awesome, our pitching has been lights out... I think that's going to be a really tough combo for our opponents to handle.
"We just need to keep rolling," Alonso said.
The Mets have Thursday off but start a three-game set against the Nats on Friday at Citi Field.