A Citi Field homecoming, but in visitor colors
Pete Alonso is back at Citi Field on Monday. Not as the local hero. As the opposition. The first baseman signed a five-year deal with Baltimore last December, worth an estimated $155 million, after seven seasons with the Mets. The Orioles open a three-game series in New York tonight.
The timing gives it some extra bite. Alonso is sitting on 299 career home runs. No. 300 could land in the ballpark where he used to set the place rocking for seven years. He homered on Saturday against Toronto, then went quiet on Sunday in Baltimore’s 8-1 defeat.
Francisco Lindor, his former teammate, is also on 299 homers. He belted two on Saturday against the Yankees, including a grand slam.
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The kind of consistency the Mets let slip away
Alonso drove in his 100th run of the season on Sunday, with a single in the fifth inning. Best total in the American League. More importantly, it’s his fifth 100-RBI season since debuting in 2019, the most in the majors over that span. Rafael Devers, in San Francisco, is two short of his fifth.
His 35 home runs leave him fourth in the American League. It’s his seventh 30-homer season since 2019, tying Kyle Schwarber for the best mark in baseball. Add in 1,158 games played over that same stretch, more than any other MLB player.
The Mets never made a formal offer when he hit free agency last winter. “The Orioles organization and I fit really well together,” Alonso said in the spring. “When you’ve got something good, you focus on that.”
Two seasons heading off the rails
The backdrop is brutal for both sides. Baltimore (72-78) slipped four games behind Cleveland (76-74) in the race for the final wild-card spot. Twelve games remain. “We can complain all we want, but we dug this hole ourselves,” said pitcher Trevor Rogers.
New York (69-80) will be eliminated at the next defeat, or if Arizona wins again. And yet the Mets have been a nuisance since August 3, going 22-14 and winning series against Cleveland, San Diego, Tampa Bay and Miami.
On the mound tonight: Brandon Young (9-4, 3.71 ERA) for Baltimore, Jonah Tong (2-1, 4.80) for the Mets.
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