Mets at Royals
Pete Alonso is on the verge of making history for the New York Mets, who look to build off an impressive offensive effort when they open a three-game series at the Kansas City Royals on Friday. Alonso slugged his 39th homer and drove in six runs in Thursday's 10-8 victory in Atlanta, tying him with Cody Bellinger (2017) for the most homers by a rookie in National League history.
The 24-year-old Alonso also needs one more blast to become the fourth player in team history with 40 and three to surpass Carlos Beltran's 2006 franchise mark of 41. Alonso had five of New York's season-high 23 hits in Thursday's win as the club moved to within two games of the second wild card in the NL. The Royals opened their five-game homestand with a pair of shutout losses against the St. Louis Cardinals. They managed nine total hits in the two defeats and will try to bounce back against New York flamethrower Noah Syndergaard, who opposes Kansas City's Mike Montgomery in the opener.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), FS Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Noah Syndergaard (8-5, 3.89 ERA) vs. Royals LH Mike Montgomery (2-5, 5.19)
Syndergaard has worked at least seven innings in each of his last six starts, posting a 1.91 ERA in that span. He has allowed just one home run in the stretch, which came during seven innings of two-run ball in a no-decision against Washington on Saturday. The 26-year-old is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two career starts against the Royals.
Montgomery struck out a career-high 12 in seven dominant innings en route to a 7-0 win over Detroit on Saturday. He was 0-3 with a 6.61 ERA in his first four starts with the Royals after being acquired from the Chicago Cubs on July 15. The California native has a 1.88 ERA in four career games (two starts) versus New York.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mets SS Amed Rosario went 5-for-6 with four runs scored Thursday after going 4-for-5 the previous night.
2. Royals RF Jorge Soler has six home runs, one double and nine walks over his last eight games.
3. This is the first time the teams have played since 2016 when the Mets won three of four matchups.