Alonso Homers Twice in Citi Field Return, Orioles Sweep Mets — SkimNews
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- Pete Alonso hit a first-inning home run Wednesday — his second in two games at Citi Field — sparking a 7-1 Orioles win that completed a three-game sweep and moved Baltimore within 2½ games of the Chicago White Sox for the final AL playoff berth.
- Alonso's Tuesday homer was the 300th of his career, tying that game in the ninth before Baltimore won 7-5 in 11 innings; his .864 OPS this season sits slightly above his career mark of .857, with 37 homers and an AL-leading 102 RBIs.
- Mets fans gave Alonso standing ovations at each of his first at-bats and, after Tuesday's blast, turned their attention to chants of "Fire Stearns" directed at president of baseball operations David Stearns, who let Alonso walk in free agency.
- Alonso said he had not spoken to Stearns during the series but did reconnect with clubhouse attendants, kitchen cooks, parking lot attendants, and security staffers, plus former teammates; he later embraced retiring Mets radio voice Howie Rose.
- The Mets were eliminated from playoff contention Monday and clinched a losing season Tuesday despite an opening-day payroll north of $350 million, a collapse that included a 12-game April losing streak and a near-permanent stay in the NL East basement.
- Three Long Island fans — Michael Shaw, Nick Maldarella and Chris Makarius — returned Tuesday's milestone home run ball to Alonso, who signed bats, balls, jerseys and a Carlos Delgado shirt for them and offered Camden Yards tickets and batting-practice access.
Why it matters: Alonso's two-homer return is a public referendum on the Mets' decision to let their franchise-record 264-home-run slugger leave for a $155 million deal in Baltimore, with fans voicing their anger at Stearns while the Orioles ride his bat into a late-September playoff push. The contrast — a Mets team with a $350 million payroll already eliminated versus an Orioles team climbing within 2½ games of a playoff spot — sharpens the sting for New York.
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