Alonso, Mets relish their first-half turnaround

NEW YORK -- The Mets are heading into the All-Star break in playoff position. Imagine hearing that on May 29, when they were 11 games under .500 at 22-33 and languishing in fourth place in the National League East.

But it's true. The Mets (49-46) now hold the third NL Wild Card spot.

"It's definitely an attribute of our resilience that this group has," said All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso, who hit his 19th home run of the season in Sunday afternoon's 8-5 first-half finale loss to the Rockies at Citi Field. "I'm just really pleased with how everyone has stuck together.

"We were not in the best spot. Being 11 games under, that's really not the best. But our belief as a group -- belief in each other, and ourselves as individuals -- I think that collective belief has really shown. And that's given us the chance to really showcase who we are.

“I feel like we've done that, and we're definitely gonna continue to do that in the second half."

Over their last 40 games, going back to May 30, the Mets are 27-13. Even though they had their five-game winning streak snapped on Sunday, New York has the most wins, and best winning percentage (.675), of any team in baseball over that time.

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After the finale against the Rockies, manager Carlos Mendoza summed up his team's roller-coaster first half with one word:

"Interesting," Mendoza said with a laugh. "We went through a lot. But the guys continue to battle, they continue to show up, and they continue to believe in themselves. I'm very proud of them.

"We're in a better position now, but we understand that we've still got a ways to go. But it's a good feeling. You've got to give them credit, because they work really, really hard. There's something special going on in that room."

Alonso and the Mets' other stars have led the way in turning their first half around. Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo, in particular, have been red-hot at the top of the order. But it's been a team effort.

"From where we were to where we're at now, there's so much to be pleased about," Alonso said. "Obviously, there's room to grow and room to improve, but I'm super proud of this group and our resilience in sticking together. Just how we've rebounded and faced adversity, it's been fantastic."

After the All-Star break -- the Mets open the second half on Friday in Miami -- reinforcements could be on the way to help the team continue its surge.

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No. 1 on that list is Kodai Senga. The Mets’ ace, who hasn't pitched in the Majors all season, made another rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday and looks like he's drawing closer to a return. Mendoza said getting Senga back for the playoff push would be "huge."

The Mets could always make some moves ahead of the Trade Deadline to add pieces, too.

"That'd be fantastic, but there's still two weeks left," Alonso said. "We've got to make it easy on [the front office]. We've got to continue to play good baseball until the end of the month. That'd be great, but we've got to earn that and continue to play well, and make their job easy."

But it's the group that the Mets have on the field right now that's flipped the script on the season. And New York is hungry for more in the second half.

"They're not satisfied," Mendoza said. "Even though we're playing a lot better the past month or so, there's still room for improvement, and they know it. And they feed off that. So there's a lot to like about what's going on in that group."

And Mendoza envisioned this success all along, even when the Mets were struggling.

"I wouldn't say [it's a] surprise," Mendoza said. "I just continue to say that we've got good players. We've got great people here. Eventually they were going to come out of it.

"We knew. We believed in each other in that room. And they're showing it. They're too good of players, and they continue to push each other, they continue to find ways to get it done. That's what it's all about in this league. You've got to get it done, and we're doing a lot of that lately."