Alonso homers again, Mets thump Giants 9-4

SAN FRANCISCO -- — Pete Alonso hit his major league-leading ninth homer and drove in four runs, Eduardo Escobar added a two-run drive to back a milestone night for rookie pitcher Kodai Senga and the New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants 9-4 on Thursday night.

Jeff McNeil also connected for his first homer of the season and had an RBI single for New York. Brandon Nimmo, who had five hits against the Dodgers on Wednesday, added three more for the Mets, who are 6-1 on their 10-game road trip.

“We’re playing really good team baseball right now,” Alonso said. “All of us are pulling in the same direction, and when you get quality starts from your starters and runs put up on the board by the offense and great defense, that’s what it takes to win a bunch of ballgames. We’re enjoying our form right now. ”

Senga allowed four runs and five hits, struck out four and walked four in five innings to become the second pitcher in franchise history to begin his career 3-0. The Japanese right-hander joined Steven Matz, who won his first four decisions in 2015.

“In previous outings, I would make bad pitches and they would hit them,,” Senga said through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara. “Today I thought I made pretty good pitches and they still hit me. That’s just something to fix moving forward.”

Blake Sabol and LaMonte Wade Jr. homered for San Francisco. Mike Yastrzemski added three hits.

Alonso, who also had a two-run single, crushed a 3-2 pitch into the left field bleachers in the fourth inning off Sean Manaea (0-1) for his eighth home run in the last 14 games. It came after Francisco Lindor was hit by a pitch and was the 155th drive of Alonso’s career, 89 of which have come on the road.

“When he gets something he can handle, he puts a good swing on it,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said of his two-time All-Star first baseman. "Here’s a guy coming off as good a year as you want to see, and what’d he do when the season’s over? Went and did some things to try to get better. That’s all you need to know about Pete.”

Alonso credits an offseason dedicated to improving his strength and conditioning.

“I just feel really, really good and I feel in control right now, which is a really good feeling because I’m taking pitches, borderline pitches and just capitalizing on stuff in my zone," Alonso said. “I feel really good with the quality of swing decisions that I’m making and I feel like overall I’m just playing really good ball right now.”

Escobar’s second home run came after Manaea hit a batter and put the Mets up 4-0. New York has hit home runs in seven of its last eight games.

Senga had to pitch around traffic much of the game and overcame a rocky fifth when the Giants hit a pair of home runs and scored four runs.

Brooks Raley, John Curtiss, Drew Smith and Jeff Brigham combined for four scoreless innings of relief for New York.

Manaea allowed four hits with three walks in 3 2/3 innings. He's the first Giants starter in the last 28 games to allow more than four runs.

“He can shut a team down at any point,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “It just wasn't his day.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mets: OF Starling Marte (neck) is feeling better and was available to pinch-hit.

Giants: Manaea took a pair of line drives off his body in the first two innings, but remained in the game. ... OF Bryce Johnson, on the IL with concussion symptoms, is getting better and could be activated soon.

UP NEXT

RHP Anthony DeSclafani (1-0, 1.42 ERA) starts for San Francisco on Friday looking for his first win since April 3. DeSclafani is winless in seven career starts against the Mets. New York manager Buck Showalter has not announced a starter for the game.

---- AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP--Sports