NEW YORK -- Catcher
That wouldn’t be all the trouble he dealt to Matz, though. In the sixth, Alfaro knocked the lefty out of the game by hitting the ball out of the yard with the bases loaded, pushing the Marlins’ lead to six.\n\n“I just hit the ball and I was running the bases,” Alfaro said. “That’s how I do it -- run as hard as I can. I realized the ball went out when I saw Starlin Castro running close to me. He was like jogging. I couldn’t believe it. I was trying to put the ball in play, and it went out.”\n\nIt was Alfaro’s second two-homer game this season, the last of which came against the Braves on April 6. He now has six career home runs against the Mets in his brief four years in the Majors.\n\n“That was really a big blow,” said Matz. “It wasn’t a terrible pitch, but I just left it up a little bit and he was right on it. It was just really frustrating.”
Manager Don Mattingly noted how a change in Alfaro’s approach at the plate paid dividends Monday.\n\n“Jorge has been pretty good,” the skipper said. “He is making strides. He is not chasing much. He is getting the ball in the strike zone, trying to be more consistent with what he is swinging at. I take that as a positive. He is going to try and keep moving forward with that.”\n\nEven though the Mets answered back with a grand slam of their own in the next half-inning, as Amed Rosario was finally able to get to Marlins left-hander