NEW YORK _ Washington's outfield turned and watched Pete Alonso's bomb fly into the seats in left-center field. His homer was the second in the first inning for the Mets, who showcased the pop that had largely been missing throughout their recent skid.
It came hours after New York general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said Mickey Callaway would be the team's manager for the "foreseeable future." The two spoke about the need for improvement and how what has happened to this point is unacceptable.
Callaway's team flopped in Miami, but returned home and took a positive step, beating the Nationals 5-3 on Monday at Citi Field. It snapped a five-game losing streak for the Mets.
The ballpark became tense when Edwin Diaz allowed the first two men to reach in a two-run game in the ninth. But he managed to bounce back and slam the door.
Perhaps the win allows the Mets to breathe. Noah Syndergaard admitted on Sunday that he believed "external forces" could have affected the group.
With so much talk, so much speculation, so many rumors, this team desperately needed a win. Maybe this can help the Mets stay loose as they look to get rolling again.
The victory began with two blasts and, for the most part, contained solid pitching.
With his 15th home run of the season, Alonso tied the franchise record for homers in a first half by a rookie. He joins Ron Swoboda, who hit 15 first-half homers in 1965.
Alonso, on the other hand, collected that many in under two months (46 games, to be exact).
Barring an injury or a brutal slump, he will soon stand alone in the category. Before him, the last five rookies to hit at least 15 homers in the first half of a season were: Gleyber Torres, Cody Bellinger, Trevor Story, George Springer and Jose Abreu. Abreu is the all-time leader with 29.
Five days before this, Washington's Patrick Corbin dominated the Mets, giving up an earned run on four hits over eight innings. The Mets, who lost four more after that, looked inept.
They got to Corbin much earlier on Monday. Amed Rosario, the second batter of the game, homered to center before Alonso matched him two batters later. Rosario's blast ended New York's 19-inning scoring drought, which dated back to the end of Friday's game in Miami.
You knew things were really going well on Monday when Todd Frazier, who has struggled all season, hit an RBI single in the third.
Or when starting pitcher Wilmer Font collected his first major league hit an inning before.
Or when Carlos Gomez hit an RBI double off the wall _ his first hit as a Met in a dozen years _ to give New York a 4-0 lead.
Before the game, the Mets considered starting Drew Gagnon. But because Seth Lugo went to the injured list on Monday, Callaway felt he needed Gagnon in the bullpen.
Font, who dug his team a hole last week in Washington, made up for it on Monday. He only went four innings, but he allowed just two runs on three hits. One was an Anthony Rendon homer, another a Yan Gomes single.
Gagnon tossed two scoreless innings in which he continued to prove his worth going forward.
Over this week, the Mets host Washington and Detroit. Both began Monday eight games under .500, which means New York still has time to use its soft schedule to get rolling. That said, the Mets were supposed to do so on their last road trip.
On Sunday, the Mets lost in 1 hour, 59 minutes. They put up no fight and were swept by the Marlins.
Speculation swirled afterwards.
Had Callaway coached his final game?
Are the players even trying to save his job?
Van Wagenen responded Monday, endorsing Callaway as the man he expects will lead his team to victories and _ yes, he said this _ championships. He declined to give an exact timeline when asked what he meant by "foreseeable future."
When Callaway sat at the same table in the interview room, he talked about how there are ups and downs in a baseball season. He assured that this recent rough patch was nothing more than that.
His Mets weren't overpowering. They didn't dominate.
But they found a way to win. Maybe it will allow them to relax a bit, if only until Tuesday.
