NEW YORK – If this was indeed a farewell, then Pete Alonso went out with a bang.

Over the past six seasons, Flushing's first baseman has made one memory after another for the appreciative patrons of Citi Field. Alonso is poised to become a free agent once the Mets' storybook season comes to an end and has been understandably noncommittal about his future. A loss on Friday might have spelled the end of a great streak for a great player.

But Alonso and his indomitable Mets wouldn't go down so easily.

In the bottom of the first inning of Game 5 of the NLCS, Alonso grabbed a curveball from Jack Flaherty well below the strike zone and sent it toward the Big Apple in center. As a desperate Citi Field stood, the man of the moment admired his work, strolling down the baseline before tossing his bat into the sky about 10 feet from first base. It was Alonso's fourth long ball this postseason and the 106th of his career at Citi Field, by far the most in the stadium's history.

That swing sparked a party, perhaps the last of many in an unforgettable year in Queens. New York won Game 5 12-6 against the Dodgers. Their season is still in full swing for now. But the odds remain as long as the series goes west and the Dodgers are still up three games to two. If the Mets want to play another home game this season, they will have to make two more improbable appearances in LA

Alonso gave Mets fans a chance to dream with an early strike.

“Pete has a big shot that sets the tone,” Mets captain Carlos Mendoza said in his postgame media conference. “We needed it today (and) to continue to expand because we saw it – they’re not going to close. They will continue to put pressure on you. This is a really good offense. I'm proud of the boys. Absolutely Pete, big hit in the first inning.”

Moments after his opening salvo, Alonso traveled through a tunnel of atta boys and butt slaps to the other end of the home bench. There, he took part in the team's usual home run celebration: a photo with Jose Iglesias' giant plastic OMG sign. Traditionally, the homering hero is accompanied by all other players who scored a goal in the game. In this case, it was Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor, the other two most prominent Mets hitters during Alonso's tenure.

The three posed with their arms wrapped around each other and big grins on their faces. It's the kind of photo that, whether or not the polar bear returns to Queens, should one day find its way into a frame and onto a wall in Alonso's home.

Whenever the Mets' magical run comes to an end, whether in Los Angeles or elsewhere, Alonso becomes a free agent. His platform year was not a strong year by his standards. His .788 OPS and 34 home runs were both the lowest all-season marks of his career. But he shined in October with a .990 OPS and a peak of clutch swings. Whether that makes a difference this offseason remains to be seen.

The thug who grew up in Tampa is now important here, in this unforgiving metropolis. He is important to this franchise and this fan base. But giving a power-oriented first baseman with questionable athleticism who turns 30 in December a nine-figure contract is a risky proposition that's outside the modus operandi of David Stearns, the Mets' president of baseball operations.

The future for Alonso is unclear. But predictably, he focused on the present. When asked if he thought Friday might have been his last home game as a Met, he quickly answered, “No.”

“I just focused on competing and trying to win, getting this thing done in Game 6 and contributing as much as I can to help the team win,” he said. “That's pretty much it. That's what this postseason is about: It's about winning. It’s about surviving and seeing another day until there’s no baseball left.”

Alonso is an interesting character who some in the league find cheesy, overzealous and uncomfortably serious. The image of him taking a deep breath before a loss in the 2022 Home Run Derby only strengthened that reputation. But in his own clubhouse, Alonso is loved and respected for who he is. In a sport where there are countless players who are too cool for school, Alonso isn't afraid to show how much he cares. And the same qualities that displease some endear him to the people he spends most of his time with.

“He was strange,” a former teammate told Yahoo Sports. “But that’s exactly what he is. It's 100 percent real. I would ride for him.”

The Mets slugger doesn't float through life with the gentleness of Francisco Lindor or the lightness of David Wright. He moves clumsily, like someone trying to walk with a heavy backpack and pockets full of pennies. His many forays through the bases after home runs are more plods than plods. Another former teammate once described him as a golden retriever who just wanted to be played with.

But while no one would call Alonso cool, what he conjures with his immense baseball talent is nothing short of polar. That happened again on Friday.

Alonso's brilliant shot was just the beginning of a high-scoring, poorly placed exchange. New York ended the game early against Dodgers starter Flaherty. The Southern California-raised right-hander was great for LA in Game 1, going scoreless seven times. But in Game 5, he was a fizzy lemonade, a pitching machine in uniform. Flaherty's fastball was nearly two ticks below his season average, and none of his secondary delivery was sharp.

The Mets took advantage in a five-run third inning, yielding four hits and collecting two free passes en route to an 8-1 lead. Citi Field, which had little to shout about in this series, rejoiced in the loss.

Los Angeles fought its way back into the game in the middle of the inning with a three-run curler from rookie Andy Pages, his second of the game, that cut the deficit to five. A comeback was lurking, forcing the Mets to resort to their second-best backup option, flamethrower Ryne Stanek. The wavy-haired right-hander delivered the performance of his career, throwing 2 1/3 innings, the most he's ever pitched in a single outing, to keep the game under control. Closer Edwin Díaz also exceeded his typical limit, getting the final six outs to give the Mets a liberating win.

The LA bullpen is in great shape for Games 6 and 7 thanks to Dodgers reliever Brent Honeywell, who pitched 4 2/3 innings after Flaherty's early exit. The Mets, on the other hand, emptied their vault to win Game 5. six outs from Díaz and seven from Stanek. Both heavily indebted arms will be available and involved the rest of the way, but they could be less effective given their current workloads. This series remains firmly in the hands of LA as it makes its way back to the West Coast.

But at least the Mets made things interesting. This shouldn't be a surprise. While they may not return to Citi Field this year, this exhilarating one team ride gave 43,841 souls another unforgettable evening under the lights of Queens.

And Alonso, who has lit up this place more times than anyone else, was the coolest man in the building.