Pete Alonsos chances to extend magic dwindling with Mets future in doubt

Is the Playoff Pumpkin going rotten? Does Pete Alonso have any more magical swings left to keep this magical playoff run going? The questions will begin to be answered Friday, which could be remembered as the Polar Bear’s final plunge with the Mets and perhaps at Citi Field in a home jersey. The Mets were drilled, 10-2, by the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLCS on Thursday, which pushes them to the brink and pushes Alonso to the precipice of free agency, where there is no guarantee that one of the faces of the club for the past six years returns. If this is how Alonso goes out, there would be regrets.The big slugger went 1-for-4 with a garbage-time single, two strikeouts and a walk Thursday, now 2-for-15 with six strikeouts in the NLCS.

The Mets’ offense has gone cold, shut out in two games before managing just a pair of runs Thursday, and Alonso has not been able to shoulder the load. If this is how Alonso goes out, he is insisting he is not thinking about the stakes and the offseason. “Absolutely not,” Alonso said, asked if he has considered that Friday could be his last game as a Met.“I think for me, I’m just so focused on trying to win for these guys.

This group is really special.It’s been an absolute blast this year.

We’ve accomplished a lot. “This is going to be an incredible challenge.I’m really excited to go into battle tomorrow with the guys in this clubhouse.” Alonso already seemed to be on the verge of exiting the Mets unceremoniously once when he rescued the club from the edge.

His go-ahead, three-run home run in the ninth inning of Game 3 in Milwaukee became the largest swing of his career (so far) and one of the biggest in Mets history, reviving a season that appeared dead. Alonso was solid in the NLDS victory against the Phillies, when he launched a pair of home runs, but the Dodgers have thrown an assortment of pitchers at him, Alonso rarely looking comfortable. “The past two days, obviously, result-wise, frustrating,...