Alonso hits slam in seven-run fifth as Mets top Marlins

MIAMI — Pete Alonso provided the first of what likely will be regular reminders of why it was so wise of the Mets to bring him back for at least another season.

In their 10-4 win over the Marlins on Monday night, he highlighted the homer-palooza with a fifth-inning, game-turning grand slam, his first long ball of the year.

Brandon Nimmo, leadoff-man-for-a-day Starling Marte and Luis Torrens also went deep in the sort of offensive explosion that the Mets never came close to in their season-opening series versus the Astros. Against a Miami roster featuring few players with any sort of major-league track record of success, though, most of the Mets came away with reason to feel good about themselves — and all of the starters came away with a hit.

Alonso’s was the biggest. The Mets had just gone ahead, 2-1, on Jose Siri’s RBI double when Marte got hit by a pitch and Juan Soto walked. That loaded the bases for Alonso, who smashed Cal Quantrill’s sinker over the outer third of the plate over the right-centerfield wall.

Alonso upped his career home run total to 227, just 25 shy of matching Darryl Strawberry for most in franchise history.

Alonso’s 13 homers in Miami are his second-highest total at any away ballpark, behind Washington (15).

Quantrill, whose one-year, $3.5 million contract signed in mid-February was the Marlins’ largest financial outlay of the offseason, pitched around trouble until imploding in that fifth. In the Mets’ seven-run frame, he gave up six runs and threw 28 pitches without getting an out.

Torrens got in on the fun with a fly ball to centerfield. Derek Hill nearly caught it, but his collision with the wall seemed to jar the ball loose. It fell out of his glove and on the other side of the wall. A confused, shrugging Torrens stopped between first and second base for a few seconds until the also-confused umpires signaled home run.

Mets lefthander David Peterson turned in a quality start, allowing two runs in six innings. Otto Lopez homered in the first and Eric Wagaman went deep in the sixth. Peterson struck out nine and scattered three walks and five hits, benefitting in particular from a double-play ground ball in the fourth.

His greatest escape, however, came in the second inning, before he had settled into a groove. He walked the first two batters — Jonah Bride and Dane Myers — and after Liam Hicks’ sacrifice bunt had two runners in scoring position with one out. He then struck out Javier Sanoja and Graham Pauley, two of the Marlins’ four rookies.

After Huascar Brazoban tossed two scoreless innings, the Mets assigned Danny Young the ninth. He gave up two runs, snapping the bullpen’s season-opening scoreless streak at 11  1⁄3 innings.

Notes & quotes: Francisco Lindor’s wife, Katia, gave birth gave birth to their third child and first son, Koa, on Sunday, the couple announced Monday on Instagram. “Perfect timing,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of the baby coming on the team’s off day. The Mets expected Lindor on site and available off the bench, but they wound up not needing him in the easy win . . . The Mets traded outfielder Alexander Canario to the Pirates for cash . . . On MLB’s list of most popular jerseys, based on offseason sales, the Mets had two players: Juan Soto at No. 3 and Lindor at No. 6. The Dodgers had three of the top four with Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.