Max Scherzer cruises, Pete Alonso drives in 5 as Mets beat Phillies

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Max Scherzer finally could pitch with all his strength now that his right hamstring wasn't bothering him anymore.

It took a bit for him to figure that out, but when he did, he looked back to his Cy Young self.

Scherzer settled in after working out of an early jam, Pete Alonso drove in five runs with a homer and two doubles and the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-6 Wednesday. It took loading the bases in the first for Scherzer (2-0) to recalibrate how to pitch on his right leg again, then he struck out the next batter, induced a groundout and allowed one run and five hits with seven strikeouts in five innings.

"I just wasn’t completely executing every pitch where it needed to be," Scherzer said. "Fortunately enough to be able to walk three in an inning to not have that spiral out of control and give up a bunch of runs in that situation. That really set a tone and allowed our offense to get going."

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New York Mets' Pete Alonso (20) celebrates with Starling Marte (6) after hitting a 3-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Wednesday, April 13, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

Alonso and the rest of New York's offense provided more than enough run support for the 37-year-old three-time Cy Young Award winner. Brandon Nimmo hit a solo home run off Aaron Nola in the third inning — the first Mets hit of the afternoon — before the middle of the order teed off in the fourth and fifth.

"We did an excellent job of pouring it on all day," said Alonso, who was again the designated hitter instead of his preference to play