Pete Alonso stood in the Mets dugout and tipped his helmet, absorbing the standing ovation he was receiving.
It was the third inning in the Mets’ 13-5 blowout win over the Braves on Tuesday night at Citi Field, and Alonso had just cleared the fence in right-center against Atlanta’s Spencer Strider to become the franchise’s all-time home run leader.
Homer No. 253 pushed Alonso ahead of Darryl Strawberry for first place in Mets history. Alonso had tied Strawberry on Saturday with a blast at Milwaukee.
On this night he doubled to open the second inning. He returned to the plate with two outs in the third and jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Strider to move ahead of Strawberry. The blast gave the Mets a 5-1 lead at the time.
Alonso added a solo homer in the sixth for his sixth in the past 10 games and gave his team an 11-5 lead.
On Sunday, a day after tying Strawberry, the Mets first baseman said the record was something he envisioned when he arrived on the major league scene in 2019.
“If the circumstances allowed me, I would have [believed it],” Alonso said. “For me it was all about staying healthy and playing as many games as possible and doing my part to help the team win.
“To say you are a franchise leader, it’s special. Not many people get to say that. You have the runway to play here. I have been here seven years and with my game and skill set, if you were to tell me that, it would be like, ‘OK, yeah, sweet, checks out.’ ”
Alonso, 30, also indicated he could see himself joining the 500-home run club before his career concludes.
“It’s circumstantial, but if I stay healthy and perform, I can get there,” Alonso said. “I would like to play until I am 40. I think if I stay healthy and continue to perform, [500 homers] is reasonable.”
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Strawberry set his record playing for the Mets from 1983-90 — in 1,109 games. Alonso was playing in his 965th game for the Mets on Tuesday.
It wasn’t clear as last season concluded that Alonso would get an opportunity to break Strawberry’s record. Alonso hit free agency, and there were early signs the Mets would move on.
But the two sides reconvened in late January, and Alonso ultimately agreed to a two-year contract worth $54 million that includes an opt-out after this season.
Alonso moved ahead of David Wright (242) for second place on the all-time Mets list with a two-homer game at Colorado on June 8.