Pete Alonso homers twice, knocks in 3 to lead Mets to 9-1 victory over Rockies

DENVER (AP) — Pete Alonso hit two home runs, David Peterson gave up one earned run across five innings and the New York Mets rolled past the Colorado Rockies 9-1 on Thursday to clinch a series victory.

Mark Vientos hit his 17th homer of the season, Jose Iglesias had two RBIs, and Francisco Lindor had two hits and an RBI for the Mets, who moved a half-game ahead of the division rival Atlanta Braves in the race for a National League wild-card spot.

Each member of the Mets’ lineup finished with at least one hit, with five of those players hitting a double.

“I thought today was just a great team effort,” Alonso said. “Pitching was phenomenal. Defense was great. Offensively, it was a really good day for us.”

Alonso’s 471-foot, two-run home run to deep center field keyed a four-run first inning for New York, which got five extra-base hits in the inning.

“I felt it and knew I got it,” Alonso said. “I didn't really know how far it was going to go and I'm like, ‘Wow, that’s definitely one of my best bolts.'”

The homers were Alonso’s team-leading 24th and 25th of the season, giving the 29-year-old first baseman his second multi-homer game of the season and first since April 13. His three hits were tied for his most in a game this season.

Peterson (6-1), who grew up in the Denver area, struck out five batters in his first career start at Coors Field and gave up two earned runs or fewer for the eighth time in his past nine outings.

“Pitching with a lead like that, it makes my job easier,” Peterson said. “I go out there, throw strikes and try to get them back in the dugout so they can hit again. They just kept pouring it on.”

The loss was the Rockies’ ninth in their past 13 games and dropped them to 42-74, the worst record in the National League.

Austin Gomber (3-8) took the loss for Colorado after giving up six hits and five earned runs in just three innings, tied for his shortest appearance of the season.

“Nothing really had bite,” Gomber said. “I felt good for the better part of the last two months physically. Today is just kind of one of those days in August. I knew early on everything was kind of a couple of ticks down. It makes it hard. The game's hard enough. When you don't really have your best stuff, it gets even harder.”

Ezequiel Tovar and Brendan Rodgers finished with two hits apiece for the Rockies. Brenton Doyle drove in Colorado’s lone run of the afternoon with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rockies: Placed RHP Ryan Feltner (right shoulder strain) on the 15-day IL and recalled RHP Riley Pint from Triple-A Albuquerque. Feltner exited his start Wednesday against the Mets after just one inning due to right shoulder and lat soreness. ... RHP Peter Lambert left the game after three innings of relief after injuring his thumb. Manager Bud Black said x-rays were negative, but that Lambert's thumb is “severely bruised.”

UP NEXT

Mets: LHP Jose Quintana (6-7, 3.95 ERA) will take the mound against RHP Bryce Miller (8-7, 3.62) and the Mariners on Friday in Seattle.

Rockies: RHP Tanner Gordon (0-3, 6.75 ERA) will face off against RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (4-5, 4.04) and the Atlanta Braves Friday in Denver.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Peter Lambert, right, explains the pain in his hand to trainer Keith Dugger, front left, as manager Bud Black, second from right, looks on with home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez, back left, and catcher Jacob Stallings, back center, in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. Lambert was pulled from the mound. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets fans cheer as Mets relief pitcher Danny Young strikes out Colorado Rockies' Brenton Doyle to end a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos pulls in a pop fly off the bat of Colorado Rockies' Sam Hilliard to end the second inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets' Mark Vientos gestures as he circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Peter Lambert in the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets' Mark Vientos follows the flight of his two-run home run off Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Peter Lambert in the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets' Pete Alonso crosses home plate after hitting a solo home run off Colorado Rockies pitcher Austin Gomber in the third inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Riley Pint works against the New York Mets in the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Rockies' Kris Bryant reacts after striking out against New York Mets starting pitcher David Peterson to end the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets' Pete Alonso gestures to the bullpen as he circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Colorado Rockies pitcher Austin Gomber in the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets' Pete Alonso, left, gestures to the bullpen as he circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run as third base coach Mike Sarbaugh looks on in the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets' Harrison Bader, right, congratulates Pete Alonso, left, who returns to the dugout after hitting a solo home run off Colorado Rockies pitcher Austin Gomber in the third inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets relief pitcher Ryne Stanek works against the Colorado Rockies in the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets relief pitcher Danny Young works against the Colorado Rockies in the ninth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets' Pete Alonso, left, congratulates Mark Vientos, right, after Vientos' two-run home run off Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Peter Lambert in the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets' Pete Alonso singles off Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Peter Lambert in the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets' Pete Alonso gestures to the bullpen after singling against Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Peter Lambert in the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York Mets' Pete Alonso follows the flight of his two-run home run off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Austin Gomber in the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The European Union on Monday condemned attacks on U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon and rejected Israeli allegations that the U.N. was keeping them there to obstruct military operations against Hezbollah.

Five peacekeepers have been wounded in attacks that struck their positions since Israel began a ground campaign against the Hezbollah militant group, with most blamed on Israeli forces. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that “their work is very important. It’s completely unacceptable attacking United Nations troops.”

Israel has been escalating its campaign against Hezbollah after a year of exchanges of fire, while it is also at war with Hamas in Gaza.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were fighters but say women and children make up more than half of the fatalities. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.

It’s been more than a year since Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed into army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. They are still holding about 100 captives inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Here's the latest:

BRUSSELS — Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin is accusing Israel of trying to prevent the world from seeing what its troops are doing in Lebanon and Gaza, and of working to undermine the United Nations.

Asked what Israel’s aim might be in demanding that UNIFIL peacekeepers leave their bases after a series of attacks, Martin said: “essentially to drive the eyes and ears out of south Lebanon and to give itself free rein.”

“We cannot have an undermining and a chipping away of the status or the credibility or structures of the United Nations and particularly its peacekeeping forces,” Martin said in Luxembourg, where EU foreign ministers are meeting.

“We see what’s happening in northern Gaza, for example, in terms of the necessity of eyes and ears on the ground. The world has really no full picture of what’s happening in Gaza,” he told reporters.

Martin added that “Israel is essentially now undermining (not only) the United Nations and the United Nations peacekeeping force, but the very rules based international order, and it needs to step back.”

He called on his EU counterparts “to stand up now on the side of what’s right and proper and moral in terms of humanity.”

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency said Monday police had charged two Israelis on accusations that they planned to carry out an assassination at the behest of Iran.

The agency said Vladislav Victorson, 30, was approached online by a person called Mari Hossi and was instructed to carry out missions that ranged from petty vandalism to torching cars, and paid more than $5,000.

The Shin Bet said Victorson was asked to damage communications infrastructure and ATMs, although a statement did not say whether he carried out these acts. It also did not name the Israeli figure he allegedly agreed to assassinate. The Shin Bet said he also sought to acquire weapons, including a sniper’s rifle, guns and grenades. According to the Shin Bet, Victorson enlisted two other people, including his girlfriend, Anna Bernstein, 18, to assist in his missions.

The Shin Bet said Iranian agents are known to use social media and promises of cash in efforts to recruit Israelis to carry out such attacks.

Israel and Iran have a longstanding shadow war, which over the past year has erupted into direct conflict.

BRUSSELS — The European Union condemned attacks on U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon and rejected allegations that U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is responsible for obstructing the Israeli army.

Sixteen EU countries are contributing to the UNIFIL peacekeeping force. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that “their work is very important. It’s completely unacceptable attacking United Nations troops.” Five peacekeepers have been wounded in attacks that struck their positions, with most blamed on Israeli forces.

Speaking in Luxembourg before chairing talks between EU foreign ministers, Borrell underlined that the U.N. Security Council decides whether UNIFIL should be moved, “so stop blaming Secretary Guterres.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called for UNIFIL to heed Israel’s warnings to evacuate, accusing them of “providing a human shield” to Hezbollah. In a video addressed to Guterres, who has been banned from entering Israel, Netanyahu told the U.N. chief “to get (UNIFIL) out of the danger zone.”

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, whose country is one of Europe’s strongest backers of Israel, said the attacks are “simply unacceptable” and that UNFIL will not be leaving.

“No, they will not withdraw. Yes, they will continue to fulfill the mandate. And yes, we demand on each and every party to respect this mandate and respect the security and safety of our blue helmets,” he told reporters.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said it has launched the second round of a polio vaccination campaign in the war-ravaged territory.

It said Monday that a second does of the vaccine will be administered to children under 10 in the central part of the territory over the next three days before the campaign is expanded to the north and south.

The campaign began last month after the territory registered its first polio case in Gaza in 25 years — a 10-month-old boy, now paralyzed in one leg.

Health workers succeeded in administering the first dose of the vaccine to around 560,000 children despite myriad challenges, including ongoing fighting, the breakdown of law and order and widespread damage to roads and infrastructure.

The World Health Organization said humanitarian pauses to facilitate the campaign last month were largely observed.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — “It is totally, utterly unacceptable for Israel to be targeting U.N. Peacekeepers,” New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told reporters in the capital on Monday.

“I think the whole world is outraged that Israel is targeting U.N. facilities. They are there on a peacekeeping mission to try and keep the peace on that border,” he said.

Palestinians look at the damage after an Israeli strike hit a tent area in the courtyard of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians look at the damage after an Israeli strike hit a tent area in the courtyard of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians look at the damage after an Israeli strike hit a tent area in the courtyard of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli soldiers display what they say is an entrance to a Hezbollah tunnel found during their ground operation in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)

Israeli soldiers are seen during a ground operation in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)

Israeli soldiers display what they say is an entrance to a Hezbollah tunnel found during their ground operation in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)

Middle East latest: EU condemns attacks on peacekeepers in Lebanon

FILE - UN peacekeepers hold their flag, as they observe Israeli excavators attempt to destroy tunnels built by Hezbollah, near the southern Lebanese-Israeli border village of Mays al-Jabal, Lebanon, Dec. 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

Middle East latest: EU condemns attacks on peacekeepers in Lebanon