Mets teammate called Pete Alonso's dramatic home run vs. Brewers

A plethora of New York Mets fans were ready for team owner Steve Cohen to let All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso leave the club via free agency when Alonso walked to home plate as the potential go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning of Thursday's wild-card playoff elimination game at the Milwaukee Brewers.

Infielder Jose Iglesias not only never doubted Alonso, but he called what became a dramatic three-run home run that propelled the Mets to a 4-2 win and to a National League Division Series showdown with the rival Philadelphia Phillies.

"Next inning, you’re going to hit a home run," Iglesias told Alonso as the two stood in the infield before the bottom of the eighth, via Will Sammon of The Athletic.

One couldn't blame fans for not sharing Iglesias' optimism. Alonso had gone 5-for-35 with one RBI and 13 strikeouts over his previous 11 games (playoffs included), did nothing at the plate on Thursday before the ninth inning and even dropped a casual pop-up in the seventh.

Despite all of that, his teammates kept believing he'd come through.

"Pete wants to do so much," shortstop and Mets most valuable player Francisco Lindor said after the win, per Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post. "He wanted to be a part of this. And we kept telling him: 'You will. You’ll have your moment. You’ll get your chance.'"

In fairness to Alonso, he wasn't the only Mets player quiet at the dish before the final frame of Thursday's contest. As Andrew Tredinnick noted for NorthJersey.com, Lindor registered the team's only two hits of the evening before he recorded a walk to open the ninth. Outfielder Brandon Nimmo then singled to right, setting the stage for the "Polar Bear."

"Everyone kind of felt he was due," veteran designated hitter J.D. Martinez said about Alonso, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN. "It's a big monkey off his back. To pick us up was huge. ... He did a great job of not doing too much. It was one of those swings, just point A to point B."

The "Miracle Mets" will need more of the same from Alonso and others to keep this run going. As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Amazins as +155 betting underdogs to defeat the Phillies in the NLDS that gets underway at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park on Saturday afternoon.

Understandably, Mets players weren't thinking about such things on Thursday night.

"Proud of him," first-year manager Carlos Mendoza added about Alonso, per The Athletic. "It’s a dream come true for him and for all of us."