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By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
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The beauty of Major League Baseball is that quite often, a 162-game season can change on a dime thanks to one big swing.
New York Mets superstar first baseman Pete Alonso proved that notion on Sunday. With his club riding an eight-game losing streak, Alonso stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 10th inning and delivered everyone from their misery.
Alonso's three-run, walk-off home run against Texas Rangers reliever Luis Curvelo gave the Mets their first win since Sept. 5, sending the restless Citi Field crowd home happy after a weekend full of heartache.
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It only took one word for the 30-year-old to sum up the moment.
"Sick," Alonso said, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
Typically, players keep their helmets on after walk-off home runs until they approach home plate. Alonso was so amped up that he chucked his helmet the minute he saw the ball go over the fence, and started ripping off his batting gloves too as he rounded first base.
According to DiComo, the walk-off homer was the fifth of Alonso's career, breaking a tie with five other players for the most in Mets history, including legendary catcher Mike Piazza.
As one might expect, the accomplishment of breaking a franchise record was overshadowed by getting New York one step closer, at long last, toward a playoff berth. New York (77-73) holds a 1 1/2-game lead over the San Francisco Giants (75-74) in the wild card push entering Monday.
"We need them all at this point," Alonso said, per DiComo. "No matter whether it's today, tomorrow or however many games we have left, we need as many games as we can. We've just got to do the best we can to stack 'em."
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