On an extended, rainy night in Queens, Pete Alonso brought the thunder and Kodai Senga the lightning.
For a day, the Mets played like a team that must be ticketed for the postseason, even when their record (and starting lineup) reflected the frustration that 2023 has been.
The Mets rode a pair of Alonso blasts and a robust effort from Senga to snap a six-game losing skid, returning home to Citi Field with an 11-2 blowout over the Cubs in front of an announced crowd of 29,070, of whom only probably the most faithful (and drenched) remained by the top.
The Mets survived the Cubs and a 2-hour, 9-minute rain delay in a game that began on Monday and finished within the early hours of Tuesday.
After the storm chased the warmth away, the Mets (51-61) cooled off a hot Cubs (58-55) club that’s fighting for a playoff spot.
Senga, a rare brilliant spot this season, mostly cruised through six innings by which he allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks, his ERA at 3.24 after 21 starts.
For the primary time this 12 months, he pitched in front of his young son and daughter.
“I didn’t need to embarrass myself in front of them,” Senga, who was successful, said through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara.
Senga tried to take the muddy mound amid a driving rain for the highest of the seventh and slipped on a warm-up pitch.
The grounds crew continued working on the dirt in a futile effort before Senga walked off the sector.
The remainder of the Mets followed shortly because the delay began.
When play finally resumed, Brooks Raley, Drew Smith and Jimmy Yacabonis finished off the Cubs.
Danny Mendick added a three-run home run, and Alonso smacked an RBI double against soft-tossing Tucker Barnhart, typically a catcher.
For an evening a minimum of, the troubles of this season were washed away.
Alonso drove in six and got here through together with his 18th profession multi-homer game, third in franchise history behind only Darryl Strawberry (22) and David Wright (21).
The primary baseman credited “unrelenting self-belief, even when things aren’t going that well,” and has continued performing even after the white flag has been waved.
As has Senga, who again relied on an often unhittable ghost forkball and continues to ascertain himself as a premier starter.
“Obviously it’s been a tricky 12 months for us, but I don’t think [the deadline sell-off] changes anything for myself,” Senga said. “I just must go get to work daily.”
The Mets padded their lead with the rain’s assist in the sixth, when Rafael Ortega bunted with two on and Drew Smyly couldn’t field the slick ball cleanly.
A walk to Jonathan Arauz and a double play from Brandon Nimmo produced a pair of runs.
Arauz, who had briefly debuted with the Mets and briefly been demoted, was summoned again Monday afternoon because Brett Baty was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse and Starling Marte hit the injured list.
For the second baseman’s at-bats, the scoreboard noted that “Arauz rhymes with shoes.”
Queens welcomed back a team with suddenly unfamiliar names and was treated to an unfamiliar result: a Mets victory.
