Mets try to spark slumbering offense with massive lineup change involving Pete Alonso

It was bound to happen at some point. The New York Mets lost their first series in over a month this past weekend, dropping two of three against the Los Angeles Angels. Losing a series against a bad Angels team is never good, but the two games New York lost were both extremely winnable. The fact that they scored just 11 runs against a subpar pitching staff was the main reason they lost the series.

The Mets have scored the fourth-most runs in the majors since June 1 showing just how formidable they can be, but their struggles in Anaheim were evident. They gave themselves plenty of chances to score, but the Mets went just 6-for-35 with runners in scoring position in those three games. They went a mind-boggling 3-for-18 in their win on Friday.

The Mets scored 15 runs against the Twins in a win on July 29. Since then, they've scored a total of 16 runs in their last five games, losing three of the five. They've gone 7-for-44 (.159 BA) with runners in scoring position in those five games.

With their offense needing to wake up, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza shook things up in a big way lineup-wise. The drastic change highlights Pete Alonso specifically, who is hitting lower than he has in a start since 2020.

Mets look to spark slumping offense with major lineup change

Here is said lineup:

Alonso is hitting fifth in the order for the first time since 2020, and it's hard to argue against a change like this.

No Met has struggled more with runners in scoring position this season relative to expectations than Alonso, and that showed once again in the Angels series. He went 1-for-6 in those situations, bringing his season slash line with runners in scoring position down to .198/.331/.359. He has just four home runs and 33 RBI in 106 at-bats with runners in scoring position this season. This is very strange for the player who has led the majors in RBI since debuting in 2019.

His numbers as a whole are down from where they usually are this season, as Alonso has slashed .241/.325/.465 with 23 home runs and 59 RBI. His .790 OPS is a career-low, and his run production hasn't been where it usually is either.

Lineup changes have worked extremely well for Mendoza in his first year managing at the MLB level. He moved Francisco Lindor to the leadoff spot in mid-May and since then, the shortstop has performed at an MVP-caliber level. He moved Brandon Nimmo to the No. 2 spot in the order and despite some recent struggles, Nimmo has been awesome in that spot. He's hoping that moving Alonso down could have the same impact.

Moving Tyrone Taylor to the No. 2 spot in the order over the raging-hot Jeff McNeil who has a 1.092 OPS in the second half probably isn't the move I would've made, but shaking things up with Alonso in particular is absolutely the right call.

This is a crucial game for the Mets against a St. Louis Cardinals team they're competing with for one of the three Wild Card spots in the NL. Hopefully, this new-look lineup can help New York score enough runs and get Alonso going. When he's right, this Mets lineup can easily be one of the best in all of baseball.