PHOENIX — Pete Alonso’s hopes of reclaiming the Home Run Derby crown will start with a matchup against the player who eliminated him from the competition last year.
Julio Rodriguez will be Alonso’s first-round competition, it was announced Wednesday.
The Mariners star — who will have the benefit of a hometown crowd behind him in Seattle — beat the Mets first baseman in the semifinals last year at Dodger Stadium.
That competition was won by Juan Soto, who ended Alonso’s two-year run as the derby champion.
Alonso had said he would only participate in the event this season if he was selected to the All-Star team.
That came to fruition last weekend, when Alonso received his third career selection, and second straight, to the Midsummer Classic.
The Mets first baseman is seeded No. 2 in the event and Rodriguez is seventh.
The winner of that round will face either No. 3 seed Mookie Betts or No. 6 seed Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Luis Robert, Adley Rutschman, Adolis Garcia and Randy Arozarena are the other players participating in the event on Monday night. The winner will receive $1 million.
Jeff McNeil’s approach at the plate over the last week has reminded Mets officials of his hitting in 2022, when he thrived for much of the season.
Taking baby steps, the veteran utilityman, who went 0-for-4 Wednesday in the Mets’ 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks, is in the midst of a 6-for-23 (.261) stretch that includes three extra-base hits.
Overall, McNeil has a disappointing .256/.330/.328 slash line, with three homers and 24 RBIs.
“When McNeil is driving the ball the other way good things are happening,” hitting coach Jeremy Barnes said. “That is probably one of the big focuses.
“There is a large element to a lot of our guys of just some bad luck happening, but for him it’s just making sure we’re not sliding underneath the ball, just hitting line drives and taking hits as they come.”
Barnes added that McNeil’s second-half spike last season to win the National League batting title with a .326 average is reason enough to believe he can revert to his previous form.
McNeil had a .300/.363/.418 slash line in the first half last season. After the All-Star break, his slash line was .356/.404/.494.
“He came back and lit the world on fire in the second half so hopefully we get the same thing,” Barnes said.
Francisco Alvarez established a Mets rookie record for a catcher by hitting his 14th home run Tuesday and added to it with his 15th on Wednesday to tie the score in the ninth inning.
Alvarez previously shared the record with Travis d’Arnaud, who set the mark in 2014.
Tommy Pham, who went 1-for-4, is 38-for-107 (.355) since May 28 and entered Wednesday with a 1.072 OPS during that stretch, which led all Mets players.
The veteran outfielder ranked third in MLB in OPS and fourth in batting average over that stretch.
Pham also was leading the Mets with a .341 average with runners in scoring position for the season.