Alonso's 300th HR Earns Road Curtain Call at Citi Field — SkimNews
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- Pete Alonso launched his 300th career home run — a 414-foot tying solo drive off Kodai Senga in the 9th inning against the Mets at Citi Field, spiking his bat toward the Orioles' dugout as the Queens crowd of 28,097 roared.
- Coby Mayo's inside-the-park homer in the 11th inning gave Baltimore a 7-5 win, two outs after Alonso's blast had rescued the Orioles from a loss that would have dropped them four games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final AL playoff spot.
- Mets pitcher Sean Manaea called the road curtain call "crazy to me," telling reporters that Alonso "is just not here" anymore and that he had "never seen anything like that before" — an opposing player getting cheered so loudly.
- After Alonso emerged from the dugout to acknowledge the crowd, fans launched "Fire Stearns" chants aimed at Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, an unscripted expression of frustration with a team Manaea acknowledged "has definitely underperformed" in 2026.
- Alonso became only the third player in MLB history to hit his 300th homer against a team he'd played 1,000 or more games for, joining Willie Horton (1979, Mariners vs. Tigers) and Torii Hunter (2013, Tigers vs. Twins).
- Three Long Island fans — Michael Shaw, Nick Maldarella, and Chris Makarius — caught the milestone ball after it caromed off the second deck; Alonso signed bats, balls, and their jerseys (including a Carlos Delgado shirt on Maldarella's back) and offered them Camden Yards tickets and batting practice access.
Why it matters: The rare road curtain call — and the "Fire Stearns" chants that followed — crystallize how Alonso's December departure still stings a Mets fanbase watching a 2026 team that has "definitely underperformed," in starter Sean Manaea's own words. For the Orioles, the comeback keeps them within four games of the final AL playoff spot with the Guardians.
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