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NEW YORK — The moment Pete Alonso couldn’t have imagined as a baseball-loving kid growing up in Florida arrived Tuesday night.

Alonso broke the Mets’ franchise home run record, going deep twice and knocking in three runs as New York beat the Atlanta Braves 13-5 on Tuesday night.

Alonso’s first homer, a two-run shot just beyond the right-centerfield fence off Spencer Strider (5-10) in the third inning, was his 253rd. He moved past Darryl Strawberry, who had held the team mark since 1988.

“As a kid, you don’t really think that it’s in the realm of the possibility to be a franchise home run leader,” Alonso said after the Mets moved within five games of the National League East-leading Philadelphia Phillies. “You just want to get to the big leagues and give it your best. And the dream is really kind of this opaque and unknown thing. You just want to get there and compete, play for a World Series, play winning baseball.

“I mean, it’s a wild dream, to be honest, and it’s really special.”

Following Alonso’s record homer, the Mets displayed a graphic on the scoreboard with the number 253, alongside pictures of Alonso and polar bears in honor of the slugger’s nickname.

Alonso embraced Brandon Nimmo, who scored ahead of him, and another longtime teammate, on-deck hitter Jeff McNeil, before doffing his cap and blowing kisses to a near-sellout crowd that included New York owner Steve Cohen.

“I’ve seen enough now where I was like, ‘Man, I think that’s a home run,'” Nimmo said. “Just absolutely looked like it was shot out of a cannon and has a different sound to it.”

Led by manager Carlos Mendoza, the Mets poured out of the dugout to exchange embraces with Alonso as the crowd chanted his name. Alonso emerged for another curtain call during McNeil’s at-bat.

“I had tears in my eyes,” Mendoza said after the Mets snapped a seven-game losing streak and won for just the second time in 13 games. “For how much we’ve been through the past two months, to just live that moment, I think we’ve just got to take a step back there and appreciate what you’re experiencing.”

Following the inning, the Mets played the theme from “The Natural” and Alonso again doffed his cap as the camera lingered on Strawberry’s No. 18 hanging above foul territory in left field at Citi Field.

“To be able to do that in front of this crowd, it’s really special,” Alonso said.

The Mets posted a congratulatory message from Strawberry on their social media channels.

“You have worked hard, you have stood up in the pressure of New York City and you have played well,” Strawberry said. “It’s well-deserved. You are a homegrown player. Again, congratulations and continue to have great success. All the best, buddy.”

Alonso went deep again in the sixth, connecting for a solo shot off Austin Cox. It was his franchise-record 25th multihomer game, three more than Strawberry.

Led by Alonso, the Mets hammered the Braves for six home runs in a power display so great that the team had to post on the Citi Field jumbotron that it ran out of fireworks.

Alonso has six homers in 10 games this month — one more than he hit in 43 games from June 10 through July 30. He tied Strawberry’s record by going deep against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday and set the record in his 965th regular-season game, 144 fewer than Strawberry.

With the record-breaker out of the way, the focus now turns to how long Alonso will remain in New York to add to his total.

A homegrown star, Alonso broke into the big leagues with a bang in 2019, hitting 53 home runs to set a major league rookie record and establish a franchise high for a single season.

He has played in 372 straight games, another franchise record.

“To have a player like that — you drafted, you developed and here he is, still performing day in and day out — you can’t just take that for granted,” Mendoza said.

After a protracted negotiation, he returned to the Mets as a free agent in February on a two-year, $54 million contract that includes a $24 million player option for 2026, which Alonso likely will decline.

“I have a goal to play baseball until I’m through my age-40 season,” Alonso said.

“And business side, Steve and David [Stearns], they’ve got to come through,” Alonso added with a grin, referring to the Mets’ president of baseball operations.

Asked how many homers he thinks he could hit for the Mets, Alonso smiled again.

“There’s only one way to find out,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Yelich fuels rally, Brewers extend win streak to 13

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Yelich fuels rally, Brewers extend win streak to 13

CINCINNATI — Christian Yelich had two homers among his four hits and drove in five runs as the Milwaukee Brewers overcame a seven-run deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-8 Friday night for their club record-tying 13th straight victory.

The Brewers became the first team in 94 years to extend a double-digit win streak with a comeback win of seven or more runs, according to ESPN Research.

The Reds chased Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski – making his first start since July 28 – with a seven-run seventh inning to take an 8-1 lead.

Yelich homered leading off the second against Nick Martinez for Milwaukee’s first run. He had an RBI double in the third before Andrew Vaughn hit his 14th homer – a three-run shot – and Brice Turang‘s RBI double to cut it to 8-6. Yelich had a two-run single in the fourth to tie it at 8-all and then hit his 26th homer – a one-out, solo shot off Scott Barlow (6-1) in the sixth to give the Brewers the lead.

Yelich did his damage with a bat honoring the late Bob Uecker. It had the home run call of the former catcher and longtime Brewers’ announcer written on it.

This was also Yelich’s third career game with four hits and two home runs, tying Ryan Braun and Willy Adames for most in franchise history, according to ESPN Research.

Brandon Lockridge went 3 for 5 and doubled off Sam Moll with two outs in the seventh before scoring on a wild pitch for an insurance run.

Misiorowski loaded the bases with one out in the second on a hit batter and two walks and left after walking Spencer Steer to force in a run. Elly De La Cruz had the first hit in the inning – a two-run double off DL Hall for a 4-1 lead. Four straight singles increased the lead to 8-1.

Misiorowski was charged with five runs on four hits and three walks in 1 1/3 innings hours after coming off the injured list. Nick Mears (4-3) pitched a scoreless fifth. Trevor Megill struck out two in the ninth for his 29th save. Six relievers combined to retire the final 23 Reds in order.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Slumping Dodgers lose 3B Muncy (oblique) to IL

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Slumping Dodgers lose 3B Muncy (oblique) to IL

LOS ANGELES — Third baseman Max Muncy was diagnosed with a Grade 1 oblique strain and landed on the injured list Friday, a major blow to a Los Angeles Dodgers team that finds itself fading in the standings.

Muncy was originally a late scratch from Wednesday’s lineup after feeling soreness in his right side during pregame batting practice. The Dodgers’ hope was that sitting out for the finale from Angel Stadium, then getting extra rest during the Thursday off day, would allow Muncy to return for a critical series against the division-rival San Diego Padres, who have taken a one-game lead in the National League West.

But Muncy will miss this weekend’s series from Dodger Stadium, as well as the following series from San Diego’s Petco Park next weekend.

“I don’t think anyone expects it to be season-ending,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “but hopefully it’s sooner than later.”

Roberts doesn’t believe the current oblique injury is as bad as the one that forced Muncy to miss about two months last year, but even in a best-case scenario, the Dodgers might be without their third baseman and left-handed power hitter until around mid-September.

Muncy got off to a bad start this year before turning it on in the middle of May, slashing .312/.438/.616 with 11 home runs in a stretch of 41 games. Muncy then injured his left knee during a scary collision at third base and wound up missing most of July. He returned Aug. 4, went 8-for-23 with four home runs over the course of eight games, and now he’s out again — at a time when the reigning World Series champs could really use some reinforcements.

The Dodgers held a nine-game lead in the NL West as of July 3 and have since gone 12-21 to fall a game back of a surging Padres team that arrived in L.A. on the heels of a five-game winning streak. As many as six high-leverage relievers reside on the Dodgers’ IL, though three of them — Michael Kopech, Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott — are nearing returns. The offense, meanwhile, has been mostly unproductive over the past six weeks, posting an 0.708 OPS that ranks 22nd in the major leagues.

During Muncy’s absence, the Dodgers will use Alex Freeland, a switch-hitting rookie who’s batting .176 in his first 12 games, and Buddy Kennedy, a right-handed-hitting journeyman with a career .193 batting average. Other potential reinforcements like Tommy Edman, Hyeseong Kim and Enrique Hernandez remain on the IL and aren’t close enough to a return.

“It’s certainly a tough loss,” Roberts said. “I think it’s just guys got to continue to perform to their abilities. It’s hard to kind of backfill Max, what he means, as far as the plate discipline, the slug, the on-base, all that stuff. I feel good about our lineup, the guys that we have, and they just have to go out there and take good at-bats. That’s all we can do right now.”

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Phils’ Duran takes liner off foot; X-rays negative

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Phils' Duran takes liner off foot; X-rays negative

WASHINGTON — Philadelphia Phillies closer Jhoan Duran was carted off the field after he took a comebacker off his right foot in the ninth inning of a 6-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

The Phillies said that initial X-rays were negative and that Duran would be evaluated further Saturday.

Pitching in a non-save situation after four days off, Duran began the ninth by facing Paul DeJong, who hit a sharp grounder to the mound on his fourth pitch. The ball deflected off Duran’s foot and into foul territory for a single.

Duran ran toward the ball but began limping as he approached the foul line. After a lengthy visit by team trainers, he took a seat in the Nationals’ bullpen cart and was driven off the field.

“He ran like a shot to retrieve the ball, and once he got there, I think the adrenaline wore off and the pain set in,” Thomson said. “But before the cart came out, he said, ‘I actually feel better, I think I can walk over to the dugout.’ But we got all these steps up here, so we just wanted to use the cart and take him all the way around, so he didn’t have to go up the steps.”

Acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline, Duran is 4-for-4 in save opportunities with the Phillies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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