Meet the Mets
Pete Alonso received a resoundingly warm welcome from the Citi Field crowd last night, and despite a good start by Jonah Tong, Alonso’s Orioles beat the Mets by a 2-1 score. Alonso and Francisco Lindor each hit very long foul balls that would’ve given them their 300th career home runs if they’d kept them fair, but both players are still sitting on 299 heading into the second game of the series.
Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, New York Daily News, New York Post
Mets fans cheered Alonso loudly and
chanted his name throughout the night, and he appreciated it.
A noticeable chunk of Mets fans left the ballpark immediately after Alonso’s final at-bat.
Abbey Mastracco caught up with Alonso before the series got underway and wrote afterwards that the emotional night showed that the Mets made the wrong move in letting him go.
Anthony DiComo wrote that Alonso’s return highlighted the Mets’ glaring need at first base.
Tim Britton writes that Alonso’s return put the spotlight on David Stearns, as Alonso’s departure from the Mets has thus far been the defining decision of Stearns’ tenure.
Mets fans chanted “fire Stearns” a few times during the game.
Danny Abriano wrote about Alonso’s return to Citi Field ahead of the game.
Lindor is the Mets’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award.
Here’s a video of the Mets’ tribute video to Alonso that played before first pitch.
Devin Williams threw off a mound and will face live hitters on Thursday, and he doesn’t anticipate needing a rehab assignment before returning in the near future.
That loss last night officially eliminated the Mets from the playoffs, by the way.
Around the National League East
The Braves lost to the Cubs, and Atlanta is expected to put Reynaldo López on the injured list.
Around Major League Baseball
The Guardians lost to the White Sox, having entered the night with a chance to overtake their rivals for first place in the American League Central. Now they’re 1.5 games back heading into the second game of that series.
In a back-and-forth affair, the Blue Jays suffered a loss to the Tigers, a massive missed opportunity that leaves them one game behind the Guardians for the final American League Wild Card spot.
With that Toronto loss and their win over the Twins, the Yankees officially clinched a playoff spot.
Speaking of clinching playoff spots, the Dodgers tied a major league record by making the playoffs for the 14th season in a row as Tarik Skubal helped them beat the Reds.
The Padres managed to beat the Rockies by an 8-7 score, giving them an important win as they try to keep hold of the final Wild Card spot in the National League.
The Diamondbacks, the only NL team with a realistic shot of overtaking the Padres, also won by an 8-7 score as they defeated the Marlins.
Quinn Matthews threw a gem as the Cardinals beat the Giants.
The Mariners’ underwhelming season continued with a loss to the rival Angels.
The latest MLB.com power rankings have the three National League teams jockeying for a bye at the top.
As for the rest of the playoff contenders, here’s a breakdown of those races. And here’s what MLB executives think of the biggest playoff threats.
Ichiro Suzuki played against the best high school girls baseball players in Japan, threw 127 pitches, notched 17 strikeouts, and threw a complete game shutout.
Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue
Linus Lawrence brought us the latest edition of Monday Stat Party.
Allison McCague reviewed the recent performance of Mets position players.
Brian Salvatore previewed the Mets’ three-game series with the Orioles.
This Date in Mets History
Cleon Jones made his major league debut on this date in 1963.
