Alonso's 300th HR Caps Citi Field Return as Orioles Walk Off Mets — SkimNews
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- Pete Alonso crushed a 414-foot solo home run off Kodai Senga with one out in the ninth to tie the score at 3, spiking his bat toward the Orioles dugout as the Citi Field crowd of 28,097 roared and later chanted his name for a curtain call.
- Coby Mayo snapped a 4-all tie with a three-run inside-the-park homer in the 11th, driving an 0-2 pitch from Jonathan Pintaro that glanced off rookie center fielder A.J. Ewing's glove as he crashed into the fence, sending Mayo around the bases standing up.
- Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Jeremiah Jackson also went deep for the Orioles (74-78), who stayed three games behind Cleveland for the final American League playoff spot.
- Alonso had been hitless in his first seven plate appearances of the series against his former club after hitting a club-record 264 homers for the Mets before signing with Baltimore in December.
- Mets fans launched "Fire Stearns" chants at president of baseball operations David Stearns during the curtain call, and the home team (69-82) dropped its third straight to clinch a losing season after Monday's elimination.
- Andrew Kittredge survived Bo Bichette's two-out RBI single in the 11th to earn his 10th save, while Alex Hoppe (1-1) picked up the win for Baltimore and Pintaro (2-2) took the loss.
- Kodai Senga suffered his first blown save in eight chances this season on Alonso's game-tying shot, and New York's Carson Benge added a homer in a losing effort.
Why it matters: Alonso's milestone homer punctuated a storybook return to Citi Field but could not prevent the Mets from clinching a losing season and a third straight loss, while the Orioles kept their slim playoff hopes alive by staying within three games of Cleveland with a gauntlet of games remaining.
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