Amed, Alonso and Matz, Oh My

The headlines all went to Pete Alonso, and understandably so. I mean, the guy can crush it, and now has, along with Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, one of the hardest hit home runs in recent memory. The towering shot was hit directly to straight-away center, plopping down into the pond that sits all the way out there in the Braves' Suntrust Park. It floated there for the remainder of the game, a glaring reminder to all of the power that be with the Mets' new first baseman.

He's taken the league by storm, for sure, or at least our Metsian hearts. If they rest of baseball isn't talking about Pete Alonso, they should be and very well could be soon.

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Photo via amazinavenue.com

The two others, however, who were the unsung heroes of the 6-3 win over the Braves last night were Amed Rosario and Steven Matz. We Mets fans have been waiting for both to break out of their shells, and there is a possibility we are witnessing both coming into their own. 

Rosario drove in the first 4 runs of the ballgame before Alonso's mammoth 2-run shot, first with a lead-grabbing 3-run home run, followed by a opposite-field ground ball single. Rosario has been on point so far this year, carrying some late-season success over into 2019. With all the spotlight on Alonso and others, Rosario can silently become the grand shortstop we have been waiting for him to become.

Steven Matz has always seemed to be too hard on himself. As soon as things seem to go wrong, he has always had that look of frustration on his face, whether it just be with himself or with the circumstances surrounding him. Last night, however, he hit some roadblocks along the way early, but did not allow the potential frustration to carry over into the remainder of the game. After giving a run back the half-inning after Rosario's home run, Matz settled down to control the game the rest of the way. The bullpen too, who we've talked about being a sore spot at the beginning of this season (that seems to be a league-wide trend, by the way) settled in to lock down the game sans Luis Avilan's 1-run blemish.

Now, Zack Wheeler needs to get back on track and the timing might be right for him to do so in his native Georgia land. The Mets need him to show that last night was no fluke, and continue the early season statement they are trying to make to the National League East. The Braves this weekend. The Phillies starting Monday.

Never ever a better time than now.

CARRY. ONWARD.

LET'S. GO. METS.