On a long, rainy night in Queens, Pete Alonso brought the thunder and Kodai Senga the lightning.
For a day, the Mets played like a team that should be ticketed for the postseason, even if their record (and starting lineup) reflected the disappointment that 2023 has been.
The Mets rode a pair of Alonso blasts and a strong effort from Senga to snap a six-game losing skid, returning home to Citi Field with an 11-2 blowout over the Cubs in front of an announced crowd of 29,070, of whom only the most faithful (and drenched) remained by the end.
The Mets survived the Cubs and a 2-hour, 9-minute rain delay in a game that started on Monday and finished in the early hours of Tuesday.
After the storm chased the heat away, the Mets (51-61) cooled off a hot Cubs (58-55) club that is fighting for a playoff spot.
Senga, a rare bright spot this season, mostly cruised through six innings in which he allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks, his ERA at 3.24 after 21 starts.
For the first time this year, he pitched in front of his young son and daughter.
“I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of them,” Senga, who was successful, said through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara.
Senga tried to take the muddy mound amid a driving rain for the top of the seventh and slipped on a warm-up pitch.
The grounds crew continued working on the dirt in a futile effort before Senga walked off the field.
The rest of the Mets followed shortly as the delay began.
When play finally resumed, Brooks Raley, Drew Smith and Jimmy Yacabonis finished off the Cubs.
Danny Mendick added a three-run home run, and Alonso smacked an RBI double against soft-tossing Tucker Barnhart, typically a catcher.
For a night at least, the troubles of this season were washed away.
Alonso drove in six and came through with his 18th career multi-homer game, third in franchise history behind only Darryl Strawberry (22) and David Wright (21).
The first baseman credited “unrelenting self-belief, even when things aren’t going that well,” and has continued performing even after the white flag has been waved.
As has Senga, who again relied on an often unhittable ghost forkball and continues to establish himself as a premier starter.
“Obviously it’s been a tough year for us, but I don’t think [the deadline sell-off] changes anything for myself,” Senga said. “I just need to go get to work every day.”
The Mets padded their lead with the rain’s help in the sixth, when Rafael Ortega bunted with two on and Drew Smyly couldn’t field the slick ball cleanly.
A walk to Jonathan Arauz and a double play from Brandon Nimmo produced a pair of runs.
Arauz, who had briefly debuted with the Mets and briefly been demoted, was summoned again Monday afternoon because Brett Baty was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse and Starling Marte hit the injured list.
For the second baseman’s at-bats, the scoreboard noted that “Arauz rhymes with shoes.”
Queens welcomed back a team with suddenly unfamiliar names and was treated to an unfamiliar result: a Mets victory.
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